We all love it when a lovable moron saves the day in a film. The stereotypical archetype for the stupid character has evolved (rather ironically) to be a very diverse character, ranging from your stoner-comedy duos to nerdy, incompetent support characters being thrust into the limelight. When they go against the odds and save the day, they do it with such eccentric, albeit usually accidental, brilliance that you can’t help but smile.
So here’s a tribute to some of those endearing idiots and the brave accomplishments they’ve made.
10. Johnny English – Johnny English/Johnny English Reborn
Why is he an idiot?
Rowan Atkinson is very well known for portraying a very different character from the slapstick secret agent Johnny English, but more of that later. For now, he’s the gadget breaking, Queen beating agent that adorned our screens back in 2003, before making a long-overdue return in 2011.
Not only is English a perfect parody of James Bond and other suave spies, he’s also a perfect parody of everything that makes the films they belong to great. He doesn’t know how to work his intricate gadgets, put clues together or even operate his gun. He disturbs a funeral he believes to be a jewel heist hideaway, injects himself with muscle relaxant, outruns British police in a wheelchair and even beats up several old women, including none other than the Queen of England. In the course of two movies he does more things wrong than James Bond could do right in twenty-three.
Top Idiotic moment
However, none of this compares to his stupidest mistake. After discovering a DVD of the plans of the evil Pascal Savage (played excellently by John Malkovich), English accidentally retrieves the wrong disk; a short film of him singing in the bathroom to ABBA. After spanking the Archbishop of Canterbury and insulting everybody he possibly can, he attempts to reveal Savage’s master plan during a coronation ceremony, but unwittingly blasts ‘Does Your Mother Know That You’re Round’, accompanied by his mime routine, to the entire country instead.
How He Saves The Day
Despite this, English is able to fight his way to the throne and finds himself crowned king. After a surreal moment of silence, he orders Savage locked away and congratulates himself with the fact he’s saved the whole of the UK by jiggling the crown jewels about atop his head. In his next adventure, he once again saves the day by fighting against himself whilst influenced by mind-control drugs, stopping an assassination attempt on an important politician through the medium of dance. Surely a heroic deed only a true idiot could accomplish.
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3 Comments
Did I miss something? When was it ever mentioned that the snake Harry released in the first book/film was Voldemort’s snake? I’ve read and seen them all quite a few times and I don’t remember that in anything.
Well, I was going froma quote from an apparent interview with Rowling where she supposedly said “Yes, it’s rather funny, really, that next to no one realized the snake that Harry set free in Philosopher’s Stone turned out to be Voldemort’s final Horcrux, Nagini.”
I did some reserach since then and it turns out its a fake. Sure fooled me.
One of the good articles i have read here . , . . . . . , . Though , i would like to mention ‘schmidt from 21 jump street’ and ‘mater from cars 2 ‘.