Ham-to-Ham Combat: Difference between revisions

[[File:anger_management_3667anger management 3667.png|link=Anger Management|frame|When the unstoppable pork meets the immovable sausage.]]

'''Rico:''' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}2aaubVlhNK4 LAAAAAAWWW!!!]|''[[Judge Dredd (film)|Judge Dredd]]'', [[The Movie]]}}

Note that they do ''not'' have to be enemies. It can be the [[Big Bad]] and [[The Dragon]] trying to out-[[Evil Laugh|evil-laugh]] each other, or a pair of heroes spouting [[Bond One-Liner|Bond One Liners]] as they mow down the [[Mook|Mooks]]s. The point is that their screen presences and overacting are competing.

* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' is essentially a continuous series of [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] scenes, with all moments of Kamina and Viral together on screen automatically topping the list.

* ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam]]''. All the freaking time. [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20180618112320/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSSDFBQ2Co&feature=related Especially when it involves Domon and Master Asia together.]

* ''[[Turn A Gundam (Anime)|Turn a Gundam]]'' has Harry Ord vs Gym Ghingham. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKeU2NqWrE UNIVEEEEEEEEEEERSE!!]

* [[Bleach]] gives us the amazing porkitude of Yumichika Ayasegawa vs. Charlotte Cuulhorne in the Arrancar arc. Once they call each other "ugly troll", thus pressing their same [[Berserk Button|Berserk Buttons]]s, much screaming and attacking and [[Volleying Insults]] ensue. Bonus points to [[Tite Kubo]] for knowing when to stop. The fight [[Mood Whiplash|flips]] from [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] to [[Let's Get Dangerous]] before the fandom can say "[[Curb Stomp Battle]]".

** Being two [[Large Ham]] [[Mad Scientist|Mad Scientists]]s, Mayuri and Szayel's match was not just a matter of [[Creepy Awesome|which one was the creepiest]], but also of who was the '''hammiest'''.

* ''[[Judge Dredd (film)|Judge Dredd]]''. Dredd, as an over-the-top police officer, and Rico, as an over-the-top villain, [[Large Ham|ham it up]] throughout the entire movie. When they finally meet near the end, though, the pork hits the fan. {{spoiler|Justified, in that they are [[The Reveal|revealed]] to be long-separated twins. [[Cloning Blues|Clones, actually.]]}}

{{quote|'''[[Jack Nicholson|Jessep]]:''' You want answers?!<br />

'''[[Tom Cruise|Kaffee]]:''' I want the ''truth''!<br />

'''Barbarossa:''' NO! What [[ToTalk ArrLike Isa Pirate|ARRRR]] ya doin'!? }}

* [[William Shatner]] says that scenes in ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country|Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country]]'' between him and [[Christopher Plummer]] were like "two ham-asauruses".

** ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan]]''. [[William Shatner]] on [https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/6/5/0/6/5/d/65065d1aaf9a9d6b54426d2910f07cfcd2b9bb4b.jpg one starship], [[Ricardo Montalban]] on [https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/2/7/a/6/3/f/27a63f3f78e339cfd779f9cfe2e116c564ef3144.jpg the other], spending the entire film blasting the crap out of each other while shaking the galaxy with their thunderous overacting. Via video link - they never share a room with each other. Scream it with me now: '''[[Say My Name|KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!]]'''

** The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'' episode ''"[[Star Trek/Recap/S3/E14 Whom Gods Destroy''|Whom Gods Destroy]]" featured a veritable clash of the titans between Shatner and [[Steve Ihnat]]. When Inhat's character disguises himself as Kirk (and is thus played by Shatner) it's a miracle that the universe didn't collapse in on itself.

* ''[[Night at the Museum]]'' 2: Kamunra and Lawrence after the laterlatter crashes the Wright Brothers plane.

* ''[[Mary of Scotland (film)|Mary of Scotland]]'': In the 1936 [[Katherine Hepburn]] and Fredric March film, the ''entire cast'' seems to be engaged in ham-to-ham combat, with the possible exception of [[John Carradine]], who during filming once said to "Katherine of Arrogance," who had expressed a desire to play both [[Mary of Scotland|Mary, Queen of Scots]] and [[The Virgin Queen|Queen Elizabeth I]], "If you did that, how would you know which queen to upstage?"<br /><br />If John Carradine is the ''least'' hammy member of your cast, something has [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]. Or maybe [[Gone Horribly Right|right]].

* [[William Shatner]] (again) and [[Ernest Borgnine]] commenced Hammification against each other in the [[So Bad It's Good]] [[Religious Horror]] flick, ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072869/ The Devil's Rain]''.

* [[Liam Neeson]] and [[Ralph Fiennes]] as Zeus and Hades, respectively, in the 2010 remake of ''[[Clash of the Titans]]''. Any time they are onscreen together (or [[A Worldwide Punomenon|hell]], onscreen with any other actor). No exceptions.

** [[Danny De VitoDeVito]] (The Penguin) and [[Michelle PfeiferPfeiffer]] (Catwoman) in ''[[Batman Returns]]'', or [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] (Mr. Freeze) and [[Uma Thurman]] (Poison Ivy) in ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]''. Then again, it is [[A Worldwide Punomenon|Got Ham City]].

** ''[[The Dark Knight]]'': [[Christian Bale]] vs. [[Heath Ledger]] as Batman and the Joker.

** ''[[Batman Begins]]'' makes this a ''plot point''; Ducard teaches Bruce Wayne that theatricality can be a powerful weapon, and Bruce Wayne, the character, starts [[Chewing the Scenery]] to intimidate criminals. He ends up facing Dr. Jonathan Crane, who dresses up as Scarecrow and uses similar tactics. The Dark Knight follows the same concept; Bale vs. Ledger is going on, but ''Batman vs. Joker'' is Ham-to-Ham Combat ''in the story''.

* ''[[Spy Kids]] 3'': [[Sylvester Stallone]] and [[Ricardo Montalban]] were arch -nemeses. They knew exactly what kind of movie they were in. They enjoyed themselves.

* ''[[Heat]]'': Averted in Michael Mann's film. With [[Al Pacino]] chewing large chunks of scenery elsewhere, and [[Robert De Niro]] himself not unknown to it, their first scene together, ever, should easily have been one large hamfest. Instead, on purpose, we got [[Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene|a low key chat in a diner over coffee.]]

* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons (film)||Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' features the rare treat of [[Jeremy Irons]] locked in a battle of the hams with [[Fascinating Eyebrow|his own eyebrows.]] A scene had a weird variant: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p5w8oR-OYM Overacting vs Underacting], with Irons' bombast against [[Thora Birch]]'s [[Dull Surprise]].

* ''[[Mrs. Henderson Presents]]'': [[Judi Dench]] and [[Bob Hoskins]].

* ''[[Kung Pow! Enter the Fist|Kung Pow Enter the Fist]]'': Absolutely any scene with more than one character. For example, Ling and Betty's face-off and the final battle between Betty and the Chosen One.

* ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' [[Fun with Acronyms|L.A.M.]] gives us a celestial level [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] when the [[Norse Mythology|Norse gods]] took it to [[Chewing the Scenery|scenery eating]] levels.

** During the banishment scene, arguably ''the'' scene featuring this trope, Hopkins takes this to new levels when he inexplicably ''barks'' at Loki. (This has become a [[MeMemetic MeMutation]] among the fandom. "HAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!")

* [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]] in any of the ''[[Road To]]..'' movies.

* [[Joe Pesci]] and [[Daniel Stern]] have a brief scene to this effect in [[Home Alone|Home Alone 2]] when their characters try to trick Macauley Culkin into thinking they've been hit by paint cans.

* In ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', director [[Frank Capra]] told [[Cary Grant]] and [[Raymond Massey]] to go wild on camera. The result is Grant playing the dashing yet hapless hero Mortimer to the scenery-chewing maximum, while Raymond Massey plays his psychotic older brother Jonathan in reverent homage to [[Boris Karloff]] whom his character is supposed to resemble.

* The argument between Severus Snape and Sirius Black in ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Order of Thethe Phoenix (novel)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' escalates quickly into childish name-calling. Considering both characters are scene-stealing and bombastic on their own, the fact that they have a scene together at all should make the wizarding world explode. Just imagine if the scene had been in the movie.

== Live -Action TV ==

'''The Doctor:''' [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|I! DON'T! KNOW!!]] }}

*** "The Five Doctors", between Richard Hurndall replacing Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee, with Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor positively restrained in comparison. Extra ham from Anthony Ainley as [[The Master (trope)|The Master]] and Richard Mathews as Rassilon.

** Don't forget showdowns between the Doctor and [[The Master (trope)|The Master]]. ''Any'' of them.

*** The entire Pertwee era is just one huge [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] zone. If it isn't Pertwee and Delgado, it is Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney.

** In ''The Horns of Nimon'', Lalla Ward almost manages to out-ham ''Tom Baker himself''. He resists the onslaught, but then, unbelievably, they are ''both'' beaten -- completelybeaten—completely and utterly beaten -- bybeaten—by Graham Crowden as Soldeed. His famous DREEEeeeAAAAaaAaAAAAms of CONquest are only the icing on the cake.

* Ham-to-Ham Combat was really the basis of Hawkeye and Trapper's (later B.J.) whole relationship in ''[[MASHM*A*S*H (television)|M*A*S*H]]''. This was as much their characters desperately trying to deflect the horror around them with silly puns, as it was Alda, Rogers, and Farrel having altogether too much fun working together.

* The British impressions show ''[[Dead Ringers (TV series)|Dead Ringers]]'' had a [[Running Gag|repeated sketch]] in which [[Ian McKellen]] and [[Alan Rickman]] battled it out in [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] for [[Evil Brit|token British bad guy roles]]. They were inevitably blown out of the water by a [[Incoming Ham|dramatic entrance]] from '''<big>[[Brian Blessed|BRIAN BLESSED!!]]</big>'''.

* On ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'', whenever occasional guest star Will Arnett's character [[Ho Yay|gets into it]] with Jack Donaghy.

* The main characters in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' absolutely love, ''love'', LOVE doing this, [[Cavemen vs. Astronauts Debate|usually over very bizarre, trivial, or theoretical disputes]], and usually while sitting in their booth in McLaren's. So commonplace is it to see them over-dramatically ([[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|and often over-eloquently]]) yelling and cussing at each other in the middle of the crowded bar over, say, what the most common food in America is, that [[Fridge Logic]] forces the conclusion that their [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] must be a well-known, taken-for-granted fixture of the bar, or else it would draw dozens of gawking spectators or scare customers away.

* In just about every episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'', [[William Shatner]] brings enough ham to the table to feed a small nation. But in the episode "[[Star Trek/Recap/S2/E06 The Doomsday Machine|The Doomsday Machine]]", he meets his match in Captain Matt Decker.

* We could be here all week if we tried to list all the examples in the genre of [[Power Metal]] considering the prominence of [[Large Ham|Large Hams]]s and guest vocalists. Special mention, however, goes to the following:

** Another example is [[D Generation X]]. [[Shawn Michaels]] thought [[Triple H]] was funny as hell behind the scenes, [[Triple H]] started trying to crack Shawn up on television, and it just evolved into [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] meets [[No Fourth Wall]].

*** The End, the Sorrow, and Crying Wolf are probably the only villains in the entire series who are not [[Large Ham|Large Hams]]s, but mostly only because they can't draw the breath to yell all the time.

{{quote|YOU WILL ALL BE MADE ONE! '''[[ThisPunctuated! IsFor! SpartaEmphasis!|MAKE! US! WHOLE!!!!!]]'''}}

* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]: [[Dawn of War]]: Dark Crusade''. Any stronghold mission featuring two of the following: Space Marines, Orks, Chaos, Imperial Guard, and Eldar (exception: if Eldar are on defense). Two grimdark hams will duke it out along with their armies.

* ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]''

* Shadow vs Mephiles in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. Mephiles spends his sweet time chewing the scenery while Shadow tries to [[Shut UP, Hannibal|shut him up]]. Although in ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', Shadow's fairly low-key, in his debut game it's basically him vs Black Doom vs Dr. Eggman.

* [[The Nightmare Before Christmas: OogiesOogie's Revenge]]: Several of the boss battles can qualify (and the final battle definitely does).

** Just about anytime a fight gets serious you can expect this. Quain'tana, Zala'ess (even more so when they're in [https://web.archive.org/web/20160605155542/http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?order=chapters&id=449 the same scene]) and pretty much all of the [[Knight Templar]] Kyorl'solenurn clan seem to have a steady diet of the comic's scenery.

** The hammiest moment, bar none, is during Sil'lice's flashback where she battles the equally hamtacular Kalki, and Sil'lice's ham-a-thon when she returns to the Sharen fortress afterwards. They ''literally'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20150912193919/http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive//20090908c19p014.jpg start knocking down the scenery].

** [[Played With]] in [[The Nostalgia Critic]]'s review of ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons (film)||Dungeons and Dragons]],'' when he ordained a contest between Profion's hammy overacting and the Empress' quiet underacting. Ultimately he decided [[Take a Third Option|they both sucked equally]].

* From ''[[Cerberus Daily News]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20150106074734/http://www.cerberusdailynews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1307&start=50 VOLUS FIGHT!]

[[Category:Ham-to-Ham CombatIndex]]