World's Funniest Movie Titles
 
A long time ago, I used to be funny. But then I started getting serious, and actually tried to figure out the real titles of movies. That's when the muse left me. I still enjoy humorous titles applied to screen shots, for sometimes ignorance is bliss. It's fun writing a capsule screenplay or storyline for an intriguing screen shot. The most common technique for cooking up a funny title is to mangle the title of a known movie (see the examples below). Another variant is based on the twister concept. Just take two titles and mash them together, such as A Room With a View to a Kill (think of the shot in Public Enemy, where Cagney and Woods are leaving their safe house). Song lyrics also provide wonderful inspiration for funny movie titles, such as Everything's Coming Up Noses (recall the appropriate scene from Pinocchio or Cyrano de Bergerac). It definitely takes as much effort to come up with something funny as it does to come up with the correct title.

Here are Wendy LaTulippe's tips for all of you aspiring gag writers:

Tips? Ha! I have no idea how I come up with them. To be honest, I'm more impressed with the people who can actually IDENTIFY the films! I also sometimes don't see what others see in the photo--a shadow or something will throw me. Then when the answers are given, the photos are clearer on that page, and I'm going, "Damn, he's holding a towel! That explains why my guess wasn't used!" :-) I think you have to be a bit weird and crazy to come up with the funny guesses, and have a lot of time on your hands. My 13 year old son looks and says, "Stop being so clever, mom--you're scaring me." The only tip I can give is this: study the photo, and say what you see out loud. In this week's crop, I studied the picture of Lou Costello in minuteman gear, leaking from a bullethole, and thought of Sieving Private Ryan. It wasn't used, but I liked it. :-) My only complaint is when the same movie titles get used repeatedly, as if no one is taking the time to dig deeper.
 
Winona Ryder takes one on the head for the clique, from Heathers
  • Something Wicket This Way Comes
    (Wendy LaTulippe)
  • The Breakface Club
    (Cat Bender)
  • Absence of Mallets
    (David Markowitz)
Lou Costello finds out he is now a ghost, from The Times of Their Lives
  • Jacob's Bladder
    (Cat Bender)
  • Another 9 1/2 Leaks
    (Chad DeSantis)
  • A River Runs Through Him
    (Michael Wolff)
Alain Delon exhibits self-love, from Purple Noon
  • Everyone Says I Love Me
    (Mitch DeLong, Jezebel Lee)
  • War of the Noses
    (Cat Bender)
  • Multikissity
    (Dan Hubbard)
 Gregory Peck holds a logo keychain in his hand, from Mirage
  • How the Western Hemisphere Was Won
    (Wendy LaTulippe)
  • Key Chain Reaction
    (Nyte Byrd, David Markowitz)
  • He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
    (Todd Huff)
Richard Burton (not in the frame) points to dead German soldier and comments on irony of war, from The Longest Day
  • They Died With Their Boots On Wrong
    (Peter Roff)
  • The Spread-Eagle Has Landed
    (Wendy LaTulippe)
  • My Two Left Feet
    (Jim Toms, Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci)

Your funny title could appear here in the future.