10. Take the Money and Run (1969)
#10 on our list of top 10 mockumentaries is Take the Money and Run. Woody Allen is perfect at playing meek characters, and the controversial movie director nails this one.
Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil, he is completely incompetent.
Presented in a documentary format, the film features interviews with his wife Louise (Janet Margolin) and others that know him. Take the Money and Run covers Virgil’s crime-obsessed youth, breaking the law as an adult, time in jail, and his prison break.
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Woody Allen, Janet Margolin
Release date: August 18, 1969
Runtime: 85 minutes
9. The Rutles: All You Need is Cash (1978)
The Beatles are Rock ‘n’ Roll legends and beyond reproach. Or are they? This mock documentary pokes fun at pop legends The Beatles.
We follow the fictional band, The Rutles, as they climb the music charts. Complete with bowl cuts–the four musicians become superstars with such hits as, “I Am the Waitress,” and “Ouch!” Celebrity cameos from Bill Murray and John Belushi are hilarious.
Director: Eric Idle, Gary Weis
Cast: Eric Idle, Neil Innes, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, Michael Palin, George Harrison, Bianca Jagger, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray
Release date: March 22, 1978
Runtime: 76 minutes
8. Borat (2006)
What three words can best describe our next best mockumentaries choice? Borat very nice! The full name of the movie itself–Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan–will have you die laughing.
Outrageous situations occur when Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen), a popular reporter from Kazakhstan, comes to the United States to film a documentary. Along the way he manages to offend just about everyone he meets. But this doesn’t stop him from falling in love with Pamela Anderson.
More than just a popular movie, Borat is one of the funniest Mockumentaries on Netflix–if you’re okay with DVDs.
Director: Larry Charles
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Pamela Anderson
Release date: November 3, 2006
Runtime: 84 minutes
7. CB4 (1993)
Our #4 vote for top 10 mockumentary films is CB4. Funny man Chris Rock is a rapper? After several failed attempts to establish themselves as hip hop artist, Albert (Chris Rock), Euripedes (Allen Payne), and Otis (Deezer D) get their big break when nightclub owner Gusto (Charlie Murphy) is arrested.
Albert assumes his name and criminal past, becoming MC Gusto, and the trio rises to fame by pretending to be recently released felons. As their fame increases, so do tensions within the group. When Gusto escapes from prison, he is furious at having his identity stolen and vows revenge.
Director: Tamra Davis
Cast: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Charlie Murphy, Khandi Alexander, Phil Hartman, Chris Elliott
Release date: March 12, 1993
Runtime: 89 minutes
6. I’m Still Here (2010)
The best mockumentary movies–like I’m Still Here–are good at making us question is this real or fake. Well, at least for a little while.
Director Casey Affleck follows Joaquin Phoenix as he carries out a plan to retire from acting and concentrate on a new career as a hip-hop musician. The Oscar-nominated star attempts to convince Sean “Diddy” Combs to produce his debut album, as he continues to shock fans and critics everywhere.
Director: Casey Affleck
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck
Release date: September 10, 2010
Runtime: 106 minutes
5. Best In Show (2000)
At the halfway mark on our top 10 mockumentaries list is Best In Show. Kennel clubs everywhere be warned: Christopher Guest and his misfit characters are at it again. The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting, and the heady scent of competition is in the air.
Hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives: The Mayflower Dog Show. The canine contestants, and their owners, are as wondrously diverse as the great country that has bred them.
Director: Christopher Guest
Cast: Jennifer Coolidge, Christopher Guest, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard
Release date: September 29, 2000
Runtime: 90 minutes
4. Forgotten Silver (1995)
We love movies that poke fun at the film industry, and Forgotten Silver does a great job at that. This mockumentary by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes details the life of innovative, and fictional, filmmaker Colin McKenzie, and presents some of his previously “lost” work.
The movie claims that McKenzie made technological advancements in cinema years before their acknowledged emergence. Silver features interviews with film notables such as critic and historian Leonard Maltin, who attest to McKenzie’s significance.
Director: Peter Jackson, Costa Botes
Cast: Peter Jackson, Costa Botes, Harvey Weinstein, Leonard Maltin, Sam Neill
Release date: October 29, 1995
Runtime: 53 minutes
3. Fubar (2002)
We’re getting close–#3 on our top 10 mockumentaries list is Fubar. Somehow, we feel Keanu Reeves should have a cameo in this mock doc.
In the smoking pits of high schools and on the tailgates of pickup trucks in stadium parking lots across North America, there exists a breed of long-haired culture rebels known as headbangers. Fubar asks the question who is that guy riding a beat up 10-speed and why does he have that haircut?
Director: Michael Dowse
Cast: Dave Lawrence, Paul Spence, Gordon Skilling
Release date: May 24, 2002
Runtime: 79 minutes
2. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
Number 2 on our top 10 mockumentary list is Waiting for Guffman. I know what you’re saying, “There are two Christopher Guest mockumentaries on this list”. Yes, because his mockumentary examples are perfect.
When the town of Blaine, Missouri approaches its sesquicentennial there’s only one way to celebrate–a musical revue called Red, White and Blaine. Using the musical as his vehicle to the bright lights of Broadway, producer Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) rounds up a cast of enthusiastic misfits (Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O’Hara) to breathe life into his crazy production.
Things go from crazy to bizarre when Clair learns that the important theater agent Mort Guffman will attend the opening. Over the top and insanely funny, the writing is excellent.
Director: Christopher Guest
Cast: Lewis Arquette, Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Matt Keeslar, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard
Release date: January 31, 1997
Runtime: 84 minutes
1. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
If the sheer thought of a movie makes you breakout laughing, you know it was funny. Mention the words Spinal Tap and those that know will not be able to contain themselves.
#1 on our top 10 mockumentaries list is This is Spinal Tap. Rock bands are the easiest to make fun of because of their outrageous behavior. This is Spinal Tap is a spoof about a filmmaker making a documentary about a once famous British heavy metal band.
Hilarious, entertaining, and spot on.
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, June Chadwick, Tony Hendra, Bruno Kirby
Release date: March 2, 1984
Runtime: 82 minutes
