12 movies that expertly break the fourth wall
By Rachel Roth
7. American Psycho
American Psycho is a multilayered movie about a serial killer striving for success in the business world. It’s based on a book by Bret Easton Ellis that I only recommend for those with strong stomachs. It’s the only book that ever made me squirm.
A satire about the cutthroat business world. American Psycho decrees that to succeed in America you must be a psychopath and be willing to lose your mind. Patrick Bateman is a reptilian serial killer with a face of stone, a.k.a a businessman. He wears more masks than the neurotic psychos in the Purge movies. The opening scene is him going through his morning routine narrating the significance of each step. His face is motionless as he peels off a pore cleansing face mask. The opening scene is all you need to know about Bateman’s character. He’s wearing a skin-thin mask.
The breaking of the fourth wall is truly needed in this movie in order to understand what’s going on inside Bateman’s head. His admissions to the audience reveal his true emotions and thoughts in contrast to his cocky smile. When he sees his rivals much better business card he stares blankly, while in his thoughts….”Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark.” Think of the movie as his confession, either driven by the human need to vent rage or by madness. Being a serial killer living a double life, the audience is who he’s confessing to.
6. Spaceballs
A Star Wars spoof and a movie spoof if there ever was one. Breaking the fourth and fifth and sixth wall, making up new walls to break, destroying the fabric that is movie magic and replacing it with sci-fi comic genius.
The characters are not just aware they’re in a movie but are aware of the movie being filmed around them. They pull the VHS copy of Spaceballs out and the characters watch themselves in the current “now” of the movie, much to the shock of the villain Dark Helmet. They include the stunt doubles, accidentally knock over a crew member during a lightsaber fight, and have the word “Spaceballs” on everything to advertise. It’s like watching a bunch of nerds make a movie in their garage.
There is no way to describe this plot without sounding insane, but basically, it’s Star Wars meets Austin Powers with a hundred gag jokes. It’s an imitation of movie and movie making. Nothing about the movie world has been spared from mockery here, and there is no message or real use within breaking the fourth wall except to be funny. However, unlike other movies that address the camera to be funny, Spaceballs effectively breaks down everything that makes a movie a movie and turns it into a joke.