Since 2011, the stars of Impractical Jokers have produced countless hours of self-humiliating
comedy, and a pretty large number of running gags along the way. Loyal viewers probably
caught most of these weird references in Impractical Jokers : The Movie, but are a few in case
you missed them.
Viewers of Impractical Jokers know that the show focuses almost entirely on its four charming
stars who have known each other since childhood : Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, James Murray and
Brian Quinn. But fans truly in the know understand that they have a fifth member, and his name
is Larry.
"Joe, these FedExes need to go out. You need Larry!”
“LARRY!"
Often screamed at, but never seen, Larry is the go-to name for a guy who always seems
to be missing. He's to blame for the circumstances surrounding a number of challenges, and even
though nobody knows what he actually looks like, or where to find him, his presence is
known. Larry makes his latest non-appearance twice in The Movie.
"Larry is the number one thing I hear screamed at me when I walk down the street.”
“I think the like Larry better than any of us.”
Larry's first non-cameo is a reference found on Q's license plates, which start out "LRY".
The second time Larry is mentioned is after the group fakes their way past security at
a Paula Abdul concert. Just as they sneak through the doors, Q announces on a walkie
talkie that they've taken the arena. The response from the other end? "Where's Larry?" Not coincidentally,
that was also the name of their 2015 tour.
"LARRY! LARRY!"
The entire imaginary setup of Impractical Jokers : The Movie takes place on Staten Island
in 1992, but look closely and you'll see that Staten Island isn't all it seems.
"We can go on a wacky adventure on Staten Island.
“no."
Director Chris Henchy revealed in an interview with S I Live that it was too expensive to
film largely in Staten Island itself, and production had to resort to finding streets
in cheaper locations that were simply Staten Island-ish. Fortunately, the scenes that were
shot authentically feature some of the Jokers' most iconic locations. You'll spot Monsignor
Farrell High School, where the boys all went to school together, and later returned for
a lie detector punishment focused on Murr. You'll also see Ladder Company 86, where Q
once served as a firefighter before moving on to become a TV big-shot.
"I heard you were a great fireman. “
“No. I’m an actor on television.”
Ballbag. It's a word that basically means nothing and everything, but when the boys
are excitedly discussing the nature of having exceptional testicular fortitude, the word
'ballbag' is thrown around a lot.
Sure, it's kinda funny on its surface, but it's also a distinct callback to one specific
Impractical Jokers episode, where it makes its one and only memorable appearance. While
acting as wall climbing instructors during a challenge appropriately called "Repeat After
Me', each one of the Jokers must get their wall-climbing student to repeat a bizarre
phrase or word given to them by the other Jokers. While Murr tried and failed to have
his student repeat "I'm going to die!", and Q also failed to get his student to repeat
"lumpenproletariat" , Joe succeeded in getting his student to repeat 'ballbag' not once,
but twice.
"You wanna ballbag over there.”
“Ballbag?”
While you'd expect the Jokers' many recurring characters to make appearances in their big
screen debut, it was Murr's quiet and strange Stanley Merkel who made the most notable appearance.
"My name is Stanley Merkle and I’m checking out.”
The weird character originated as the winning costume in a 'creep-off' competition filmed
by the Jokers for their 2016 'Santiago Sent Us' tour.
Not happy to just leave Stanley in a video clip only seen by tour attendees, Murr brought
the character back for the TV show, during a costume change competition in which the
Jokers had to return to the same receptionist multiple times without getting recognized,
accomplished through the aid of ridiculous costumes. Stanley returned once again in Impractical
Jokers : The Movie as a random stranger who shows up to sit on Santa's lap in the middle
of a shopping mall. Santa, of course, is played by Sal.
"It was…. enlightening."
The Jokers are known to wear shirts that promote their own personal interests on the Impractical
Jokers TV show. Joe often wears a shirt that says 'Adopt Don't Shop', and Sal seems to
never take off his Wu-Tang tee.
And while Q can often be seen wearing shirts that refer to his various pop culture loves,
many of his shirts also refer to his podcast, Tell 'Em Steve Dave, which he runs with Walt
Flanagan and Bryan Johnson of Comic Book Men fame. In Impractical Jokers : The Movie, it's
an especially deep cut into Steve Dave lore : a shirt that says 'Prussian Kissing Devil',
which was discussed in depth in the 313th episode of the podcast. Allegedly, the Prussian
Kissing Devil was a strange sculptural head that Q attempted to buy during his Thanksgiving
break in rural Pennsylvania with his family. Strangeness ensues, and the head found its
way into TESD lore, and eventually onto a t-shirt.
And while we're on the subject of t-shirts, Joe's legendary "I'm the Beef" shirt makes
another cameo appearance as well.
"I've been down here since 1987 I was just looking for the gift shop!"
The Jokers have attracted a pretty impressive celebrity following, and their famous fanbase
appears on their TV show often. Famous followers include Rosie O'Donnell, Danica McKellar,
and even Gary Busey has appeared in several strange skits.
"Don’t ever say that to me again the way you said it to me yesterday."
In Impractical Jokers : The Movie, however, things get weird. While the boys play semi-fictionalized
versions of themselves, their real-life friends are employed as some of the characters that
surround them.
Easiest to spot is Casey Jost, a producer of the show and host of Impractical Jokers
: Inside Jokes, who appears here as Sam, a close companion of Paula Abdul. He's easy
to spot. Not quite as easy to spot is Kane Hodder, the hulking actor who plays Paula
Abdul's bodyguard later in the movie. He's also one of the actors who's played Jason
in the Friday the 13th series, and it's probably no coincidence. It's well known that Q is
a huge fan of horror, even wearing a Friday the 13th hoodie during some challenges.
When the Jokers parents show up, you know that it's about to get really good.
"Welcome to your father. Have a seat, your ass is about to get punished."
While most of the Jokers' parents have appeared in various capacities, Joe Gatto's parents
never showed up for one simple reason: they've both passed away. Fortunately, it's a subject
that Joe can still joke about. During one waiting room challenge, where the Jokers all
have to get each other to laugh in order to achieve victory, Joe indicates that he's leaving
to go retrieve his parents. He returns with a pair of plastic skeletons.
In what's perhaps the most touching hidden detail in the entire 90 minutes, Joe brought
his mother back one more time. In a June 2019 Instagram post, he revealed that he used his
late mother's picture on an Employee of the Month plaque hidden in the movie.
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