Improvisation is an important tool for comedy filmmakers ever since the days of silent films.
When you have guys like Will Farrell, Steve Carrell and Sacha Baron Cohen on set you know
they are going to steer away from the script so you better keep the cameras rolling.
These improvised scenes sometimes help improve the written word and we are going to take
a look at ten scenes that it actually did.
If you’re a Mel Brooks fan like we are stick around for a hilarious gem from the king of
comedy.
Here is Screen Rant’s list of ten 10 Improvised Movie Moments That Made the Comedy Even Better.
The Hangover
For those of us that watched the NBC sitcom The Office, we know that Ed Helms had a skill
for playing musical instruments.
The actor seems to find a reason to sing or play an instrument in all of his projects
and The Hangover was not different.
He found a way to sneak a song in even though it wasn’t in the script.
There was a piano on the set, so he sat down and asked them to press record.
Luckily the chicken was a professional and didn’t break character.
Dumb and Dumber
Many of the Dumb and Dumber’s most memorable lines were improvised on the spot, and the
Farrelly brothers gave Jim Carrey free rein to try jokes out whenever he wanted.
When Carrey walked out of a bar there was a newspaper with the headline “Man Walks
on the Moon” hanging on the wall.
Carrey had a moment of genius and improvised his lines of excitement for the 1969 headline.
This was only one of the many lines he improvised.
Superbad
Greg Mottola’s Superbad was the ultimate teenage comedy at the time of its release
and the jokes were some of the best out there that year.
One of the writer’s Evan Goldberg had the idea to film the cast dancing and loop it
during the DVD menu.
Actor Michael Cera improvised almost an hour of dancing and they realized it was actually
funny.
So they decided to make that the opening title sequence and get Jonah Hill to join in on
the dancing.
American Pie
With her stories of the famed camp, Alyson Hannigan made every teen boy want to go to
band camp due to 1999 comedy American Pie.
During her sex scene with Jason Biggs the actress seemed to be a little too caught up
in the moment and let out her wild side.
When they were in the action the actress broke out her famous lines even though it wasn’t
in the script.
Luckily Jason Biggs kept his composure and went with the improvised line too.
Now if we could only find that band camp she speaks of.
Bridesmaids
For his 2011 film Bridesmaids, director Paul Figg put together a cast that went on to be
some of the biggest MVP’s in comedy films today.
He allowed his stars to have free reign over their characters
and before filming the engagement party scene he had his cast improvise for prior to filming.
Then he took his favorite jokes and added them into the script so he could get the best
jokes on screen.
It proved to be a smart move since they film was a success.
Galaxy Quest
The world has been waiting for a sequel of Galaxy Quest for over 15 years, despite the
film not being a large financial success, fans loved the film.
They loved it so much that fans voted it the seventh best Star Trek movie ever at the Star
Trek 2013 Convention.
The film had an ensemble cast of comedy actors that make this film a delight including some
unknowns at the time.
One actor who was just getting his start was Sam Rockwell but that didn’t stop him from
improvising as he watched a creepy make out scene.
Borat!
Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Most people believe that Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat was improvised and made up while the
cameras were rolling.
But the film was actually scripted and was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Original Screenplay.
Still, Cohen was one of the writers and had played the part of Borat for many years before
the film so he knew his character.
Borat improvised his Kazakh language with a mixture of Hebrew and Israeli slang and
he pulls it off well.
Step Brothers
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are two actors that work perfectly when on screen together.
You can tell they enjoy each other’s company and know how to feed off of each other.
In the film Step Brothers, the two share one of the funniest moments in the movie while
improvising the entire scene.
Both men awaken and sleep walk in the film causing havoc and driving their newly wed
parents nuts.
We can’t wait to see them on screen together again.
Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks is one of the greatest comedy minds that has ever lived and ever will.
The world is a better place for him being here.
In 1974 he teamed up with another comedy legend, Gene Wilder to adapt Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein
into a comedy by the name of Young Frankenstein.
The film is considered by anyone with good taste one of the greatest comedies ever made
and scenes like this is why.
During a scene when Wilder throws a dart off camera, Brooks had the idea to shriek like
a cat proving his genius for comedy timing.
And let’s not forget how awesome that cat shriek was!
Neighbors 2
Ever since Seth Rogen starred as the beer drinking co-worker of Steve Carell in the
40-Year-Old Virgin he has been loved by fans.
He’s a writer himself so he likes to improvise on set and that’s what he did with Chloë
Grace Moretz in Neighbors 2.
The young star wasn’t accustomed to this quick improvisation but she kept her own while
on scene with the actor.
Moretz fought with Rogen and co-star Rose Byrne in a scene, improvising her hiss to
expand her character’s style.
She seems to be a feisty co-star.
There you have it, ten Improvised Movie Moments That Made the Comedy Even Better.
Did we miss any of your favorite?
Let us know in the comments below and thanks for watching.