Ham-to-Ham Combat: Difference between revisions

'''Rico:''' I started a revolution!

'''Dredd:''' You betrayed the '''Law'''!

 

When a work is populated by more than one [[Large Ham]], and at least two get a scene together, it will usually turn into Ham-to-Ham Combat, where they try to out-over dramatic each other. The scene can become either [[Funny Moments (Sugar Wiki)|really funny]] or really corny, and ''really fast''. If it goes too far, it may reach a [[A Worldwide Punomenon|Hormel Event Horizon]].

 

== Film ==

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueYUwcZV-n0 "YOU BETRAYED THE LAW!!" "LAAAAAAAW!"]

* ''[[A Few Good Men]]'':

{{quote|'''Barbarossa:''' What ARR ya doin'?

'''Sparrow:''' What are YOU doing?

* The [[Live Action Adaptation]] of ''[[Josie and the Pussy Cats]]'' has a scene where [[Parker Posey]] and [[Alan Cumming]] try to out-laugh each other. Out-[[Evil Laugh]] each other, to be exact.

** When Iman turns into William Shatner in one scene, the [[Riff Trax]] commentary jokes that Shatner is trying to out-ham ''himself''.

* Obviously for a movie set in a [[World of Ham]], ''[[Repo! The Genetic Opera]]'' encounters this quite a bit. The most notable example is in the song "Mark It Up", where all '''three''' Largo siblings are trying to out-ham each other.

* ''[[Star Wars]]'': Darth Vader and the Emperor, Mace Windu and the Emperor (during the lightning-fest) and Luke and Vader during [[The Reveal]].

* ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'', especially the 1980s movie. Pick any scene with more than one character on screen. No exceptions.

* The Duke and Zilder in ''[[Moulin Rouge]]'', most noticeable in the "Like a Virgin" scene.

* Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov in ''[[Spartacus]]''. Proof positive that Hamdom does not-- <big>[[Brian Blessed]]!</big>

* Very interestingly averted in ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]''. When Cary Elwes and Chris Sarandon finally meet, it looks like they're about to engage in ham-to-ham combat, but Elwes' character instead instantly defeats the prince with his classic [[To the Pain]] speech. The "Battle Of Wits" between Cary Elwes and Wallace Shawn, however, ''definitely'' qualifies.

** YOU'D LIKE TO THINK THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?

* ''[[Batman Forever]]'' buries the needle on the Ham-o-meter when [[Tommy Lee Jones]] (Two-Face) and [[Jim Carrey]] (The Riddler), [[Villain Team-Up|team up in the middle of the movie.]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7WornrF-gs Observe].

* ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'': [[Brad Pitt]] and Christoph Waltz. Both are massive Hams stealing the attention of any scene they are in separately, and when they meet at the end there is clear competition.

* [[Malcolm McDowell]] is tough to out-ham, but Lori Petty manages to match him in ''[[Tank Girl (film)|Tank Girl]]''.

* The scene with Lynch and Pike in the car together in ''[[The A-Team (film)|The a Team]]'' movie screams of this. It's clear they're both just having fun with the movie, and then they get in a conversation together...

* ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]''

*** And next we're going to have Batman vs. Bane, whose nature is also rather hammy, at least in the comics.

* ''[[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.]]

* ''[[Glengarry Glen Ross]]'': There several examples, but the best comes near the end between Ed Harris and Al Pacino, as Ed Harris is on his way out of the office.

* ''[[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 [[Memetic Mutation]] among the fandom. "HAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!")

* Par for the course for anything [[Dracula]] related. See ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula|Bram Stokers Dracula]]'': In the blue corner: [[Anthony Hopkins]] as an antiheroic [[Mad Scientist]]! In the red corner: [[Gary Oldman]] as a heavily accented [[Classical Movie Vampire]] in a wig! On the outside left: [[Tom Waits]] as [[The Renfield]]! Not even the power of [[Keanu Reeves]] can prevent the ensuing hamfest.

** Don't forget [[Richard E. Grant]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]] hamming against each other. A true hamfest.

 

== Literature ==

* In the [[Ciaphas Cain]] novel ''Cain's Last Stand'', the confrontation between Cain and Warmaster Varan starts out like this. Then they fight.

* The Duel of Insults from the [[Redwall]] novel ''Marlfox'' certainly counts as this.

 

 

* A scene in ''[[Friends]]'' has Joey and [[Gary Oldman]] devolving into one of these as both attempt to spit more in their dialogue.

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is a bastion of Ham-to-Ham Combat.

** In "The Christmas Invasion", the Tenth Doctor argues with the Sycorax leader.

{{quote|'''Sycorax:''' I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

** When the Tenth Doctor and Donna get into a ham-off, it's epic.

** Any time there's a multi-Doctor story:

* Any scene in ''[[Mork and Mindy]]'' with Exidor and Mork. Exidor is a role that requires the finest hamming, and Mork is... well, [[Robin Williams]].

* An episode of ''[[Roseanne]]'' had Roseanne's cousin Ronnie visiting from New York. Cousin Ronnie was played by Joan Collins. A rare female case of Ham-to-Ham Combat ensued.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'':

** Londo and G'Kar, pretty much every time they met in the first couple of seasons led to a spectacular argument with actors Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas trying to out-ham each other.

* ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'': John Cleese versus John Lithgow!

** And when Lithgow's boss, the Big Giant Head, appeared, he was... [[William Shatner]]!

{{quote|'''Devon:''' I'm honestly not trying to make this sound gay.

'''Jack:''' No one is, it's just happening. }}

* James Nesbitt as [[Acting for Two|both]] Tom Jackman and Billy Hyde in [[Jekyll]].

* 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.

{{quote|'''Kirk:''' "Beamed your crew down to the planet? But there ''is'' no planet!"

'''Decker:''' "Don't you think I know that? ''Don't you think I know that?!'' THERE WAS! ''BUT NOT ANYMORE!!''" }}

* In the finale of each episode of ''[[RuPaul's Drag Race]]'', the two worst contestants are forced into a "Lip Synch for your LIFE!" dance-off.

 

== Music ==

** Since voice-acting was introduced, ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games seem to do this rather regularly. Special mention has to be given to Tidus and Yuna's [[Stylistic Suck]] laughing scene in [[Final Fantasy X]], although Wakka and Rikku came close to out-doing them with their regular sentence-ending occurrences of "yah?" and "y'know?"

* The final boss fight in ''[[Dead Space 2]],'' where both Issac and {{spoiler|Nicole/The Marker}} take their scenery-chewing levels [[Up to Eleven]].

* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' has one where Ravel ([[Crazy Ham]]) meets The Transcendent One ([[Evil Sounds Deep]]). Or the ending sequences of PS:T in the Fortress of Regrets for that matter. You don't even need the sound. The writing at that point is sufficiently '''epic''' to convey the "hamminess" all by itself.

* Dante vs Agnus before their fight in ''[[Devil May Cry]] 4''. A bizarre in-universe example, complete with stage lights and noticeably more poetic dialogue than usual. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySY5YMoBp7c It really has to be seen.]

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Drowtales]]''

 

 

* Apparently it's some kind of employment requirement (along with being [[Nerds Are Sexy|freaking]] [[Adorkable|gorgeous]]) for [[Channel Awesome]] to be able to ham it up when necessary. And sometimes when it's not, too.

* Lindsay, Elisa and Nella go all out with each other in the [[The Nostalgia Chick|Dark Nella Saga]]. Nella just about wins through [[Evil Is Hammy]], but the other women put up a surprisingly good fight.

* The [[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]] [http://www.youtube.com/user/Sonic90127 fandub] of "Rise From The Ashes" evokes the game's Ham-to-Ham Combat nicely, which is impressive given that Phoenix and Edgeworth are [[Talking to Himself|the same actor.]]

* Despite being a collaboration, [[The Runaway Guys]] often find themselves in combat. Mostly [[Chuggaaconroy]] and [[Proton Jon]] yelling and insulting each other.

[[Category:Characters and Casting]]

[[Category:Chewing the Scenery]]