Lampshade Hanging/Film: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

* In the 2011 film ''[[The Muppets (film)|The Muppets]]'' after the exposition of the characters' seemingly insurmountable obstacle, Amy Adams' character quips, "This is going to be an awfully short movie."

* About the film ''[[Casablanca]]'', from p. 372 of the screenwriting book Story by Robert McKee:

** The implication is clearly that he's so charmed by Mrs. Lazlo that it inspires him to an act of impulsive gallantry.

* A Double-Lampshade Hanging happens in a single scene of the [[No Fourth Wall|fourth wall-less]] biopic ''[[24 Hour Party People|Twenty Four Hour Party People]]'': Factory Records owner Tony Wilson is caught red-handed by his wife while he is receiving fellatio from a prostitute. His wife then retaliates by immediately seducing Howard Devoto, the lead singer of the band The Buzzcocks. Tony catches the pair having sex in a toilet stall. The real Howard Devoto, portraying a janitor cleaning the bathroom sink, then turns to the camera and says "I definitely don't remember this happening." There is then a disclaimer read by the actor playing Tony Wilson, stating that this incident indeed never actually happened.

* In ''[[Snakes on a Plane]]'', after [[Samuel L. Jackson]]'s character explains to his superiors that the bad guy has filled the plane with deadly snakes, the superior comments, "What kind of insane plan is that?"

* Perhaps the most delicious use of this is in ''[[Austin Powers]]: The Spy Who Shagged Me'':

'''Basil:''' I suggest [[Bellisario's Maxim|you don't worry about those things]] [[MST3K Mantra|and just enjoy yourself.]] ''(to camera)'' [[No Fourth Wall|That goes for you all, too.]]<br />

'''Austin:''' Yes. }}

** Or when Austin is supposedly driving around England:

* ''[[The Forbidden Kingdom]]''

** Jason Tripitakas' last name is a lampshade hanging of his role as well as the story's roots in ''[[Journey to the West]]'' (Tripitaka is a title of the monk Xuanzang, and as in the novel it's the other leads [[[Jet Li]] and [[Jackie Chan]]] that really make this story). For laughs, his being one of the only non-Chinese in the whole cast is lampshaded by Jet Li.

** The best explanation for ancient Chinese people speaking English ever. Initially, when Jason gets dumped in China, everyone speaks Chinese. Then Jason mentions that he can't understand, and Jackie Chan states, in Chinese-Accented English, "That's because you're not listening!" Thereafter, [[Translation Convention|everyone speaks English.]]

* In the 2008 ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]'' film, once Tony has come to accept that he's become a superhero, he proceeds to go on a little spiel describing in detail all of the trials he'll have to go through now, particularly identity crises and having to let the woman he loves in on it so she'll be up all night worrying about him. In short, all of the comic book movie clichés. {{spoiler|And then magnificently subverts them by straight-out announcing his secret identity at a press conference.}}

* ''[[Galaxy Quest]]''

** When an improbably destructive obstacle impedes two of the heroes' headlong rush to save themselves:

'''Gwen DeMarco:''' Well forget it! I'm not doing it! [[Who Writes This Crap?|This episode was badly written!]] }}

** This is far from the only lampshade hanging in ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'', since it's about sci-fi actors living out a real version of their fictional adventures.

* ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]''. Marshall Willenholly is being shot at by two female criminals.

'''Missy:''' And two: because you're a man. }}

* ''[[The Mummy Trilogy]]'':

** In ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'', when the [[Dramatic Wind]] blows through for about the eleventeenth time, Brendan Fraser's character remarks, "That happens a lot around here."

** In ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy Returns]]'':

'''Jonathan:''' Where ''is'' all this stuff written? }}

** In the third movie, ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor]]'', an audience member asks Evelyn if the fictional character in the book she wrote is [[Author Avatar|based on herself]]. She responds, "Honestly, I can say she's a completely different person." And that's when you realize that the character of Evelyn is being played by a different actress than in the first two ''Mummy'' movies.

** After a gun accidentally goes off, improbably {{spoiler|missing everyone but killing the cat}}, the characters look aghast. Murphy shouts, "I cannot believe that just fucking happened!"

** Also in ''Boondock Saints'' when Agent Smecker considers the (true) theory of "assassins rappelling through the ceiling and disposing of nine dangerous mobsters in several seconds". He says "You see such things in bad television". Moments later, in flashback this trope is parodied when brothers seem surprised that all went so quickly and Murphy says that it was very different from shootouts portrayed in the movies.

** The scene where the cartoonist has a heart attack and dies. Come to think of it, this could be used to describe the film....

** The bit with coconuts....

* ''[[Rear Window]]'': More than one character points out [[What an Idiot!|what an idiot]] Thorwald would have to be to leave his blinds open all the time he was covering up his wife's murder.

* In ''Agent Red'', a [[Dolph Lundgren]] masterpiece, a character asks his character, "Never heard of the Agent Red?" to which he replies "It sounds like a bad action movie." and then there's a [[Beat]] and a brief [[Aside Glance]].

* In the 1st ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men]]'' film, during the scene in which [[Wolverine]] becomes acquainted with the X-Men team and their adversaries, he repeatedly draws attention to their goofy code names. Later in the film, Cyclops heads off fanboy criticism by remarking on the film's deviation from classic X-Men outfits: "Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?" (In ''First Class'', the uniforms ''are'' yellow, and the reaction is "Do we actually have to wear these?") Magneto takes the opportunity to subtly lampshade Wolverine's [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]] nature in each movie of the trilogy:

* In 2010's ''[[The Expendables]]'', in the epilogue, Barney comments to someone how they miraculously came back from the dead, then Gunnar suddenly appears and replies that he's grateful that his friend still let him live instead of going all the way to [[Shoot the Dog]].

* ''[[Fatal Instinct]]''

* In ''Troll'', the woman that supports the protagonist defeat the title creature has a magical mushroom as a pet and actually puts a lampshade on it every time someone visits her. It's like someone went back in time to put that in just to make it fit the name of this trope!

* In ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'', when Michael has hijacked a car, there is the question of whether he can drive - he's been institutionalized since he was a little boy

'''Loomis:''' He was doing all right last night. Maybe somebody around here gave him lessons. }}

* ''[[Nuns on the Run]]'' hung one about the silliness of the plot.

* ''Eliminators'' (1986):

* In ''[[The Abyss]]'', after {{spoiler|the alien base rises out of the sea and everyone gets out of the sub that raised up with it}}, Lindsey calls attention to the fact that they didn't go through decompression and should be dead before completely forgetting it. The novelization takes a moment to point out that these are aliens who use water as a tool. They can fix all that stuff.

* In ''[[Muppet Treasure Island]]'', Rizzo notes "He died? [[Never Say "Die"|But this is supposed to be a kid's movie!]]"

* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'' Jack Sparrow lampshades one of his own [[Crazy Enough to Work|insane, but effective, stunts.]]

'''Jack Sparrow:''' And that was without even a single drop of rum. }}

* Ian's [[Genre Savvy]] line in the second ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' movie: "Oooh, ahhh. That's how it always starts. Then later there's [[Oh God, with the Verbing!|the running, and the screaming]]."

* In the [[Johnny Depp]] [[The Movie|version]] of ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)|Charlie and The Chocolate Factory]]'', Charlie asks Willie Wonka, "Do you remember the first candy you ever ate?", prompting a [[Flash Back|flashback scene]] to Willie's childhood. When the scene returns to the present, the factory visitors are staring at Wonka, who shrugs and says "Sorry, I was having a flashback."

* In "Gremlins 2: A New Batch" the writers respond to critics of the 3 Mogwai Rules set in the first film by having a Clamp Corp control room worker obnoxiously point out, "It's always midnight somewhere!", right before a gremlin bursts through his monitor panel and kills him.

'''Ron''':Believe me Professor, I've been asking myself the same question for six years. }}

:: From the same film

* In the low-budget B movie ''Street Angels'', right after the main character explains his plan (which is also a brief summary of the film's plot), the woman he's talking to comments "That sounds like the plot of a low-budget B movie."

* ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''. Henry Jones (Indy's father) directly calls out how the film treats his profession with "You call this archaeology?"

* ''[[Paris When It Sizzles]]'' is a movie about a screenwriter and his typist, where the writer is drawing inspiration directly from their own lives and situation. Because of his cynicism, and the typist's smarts, the lampshades are thicker than the sexual tension.

* In an early scene in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Revenge of the Sith]]'', when Anakin and Obi-Wan are passing around the [[Idiot Ball]], we get the following exchange:

'''Anakin''': Apparently not. }}

* "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" features George Lazenby in his only outing as James Bond, following Sean Connery in the series. During the opening sequence he fails to get the girl, prompting the line: