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The post-credits scene at the movies has become a staple of any major dramatic blockbuster with franchise ambitions. Marvel might think they invented the teaser scene at the conclusion of a film's end credits to tee up the next tentpole feature, but the post-credits scene actually owes its roots to comedies more than any other film genre.
So while the post-credits scenes of superhero flicks and other major action films continue to be debated and analyzed for their meaning and foreshadowing of future respective cinematic universe branches, it's time an appreciation was paid to the great comedy post-credits scenes of modern cinema.
The 5 best post-credits scenes in comedy films
The following is our ClutchPoints definitive list for the best of the best post-credits scenes in comedy films. We hope you find it entertaining, whimsical and yet relevant, with an underlying revisionist conceit that belie the film's emotional attachments to the subject matter. Also, we just hope you don't think it sucks. Which brings us to our first entry…
5. Wayne's World
This 1992 Mike Myers, Dana Carvey classic was innovative for a number of reasons — not least of which was in its branching out from the pack of Saturday Night Live sketch-to-movie adaptations and becoming the rare SNL-inspired film that was even funnier than its five-minute sketch source material.
Myers threw lots of zany, outside-the-box antics into this film from start to finish, and almost all of them worked to perfection! Midway through the end credits, Wayne and Garth appear in their familiar basement set format — Wayne to make sure all the delicate intricacies of his magnum opus came across, while Garth just wants assurance that the audience “didn't think it sucked.”
Then, if you stayed until the very end of the credits, you were treated to another visual gem of Wayne and Garth mundanely flipping through magazines as if in a doctor's waiting room, as Garth wonders if someone will tell them when it's time to leave. Wayne has the same concern, assuming “I bet we're just gonna sit here, and when they're finished, they'll fade to black,” which then happens on cue. “I can't believe they did that,” laments Garth. “I told ya,” Wayne chimes in. A fitting end to a winning comedy.
4. Anchorman
This one also hails from SNL auspices, though was never an actual sketch on the show — although the character of Ron Burgundy has taken on a life of its own since the release of this instantly-quotable Will Ferrell laugh-fest in 2004. The plot might not be particularly coherent or organic, but the laughs-per-scene ratio is incredibly potent (as is Mr. Burgundy after making plans for a platonic work dinner with Veronica Corningstone, though he insists it's just a problem with the pleats and he's taking them back to the pants store imminently).
This post-credits scene also takes a bit of a meta-approach, with Ron and the rest of his KVWN Channel 4 buddies laughing it up after they all agree how good it feels to be the number one news team. As they enjoy the moment, Ron can't help but narrate the action, explaining “We are laughing… and we are very good friends. Good friends sharing a special moment.”
Brian Fantana finally cuts him off, explaining “Don't say anything, Ron, you know, just let it happen.” But Ron doesn't get the memo, continue, “Laughing and enjoying our friendship! And someday we'll look back on this with much fondness…” until the moment is officially over and they walk off together.
Why wait for nostalgia and wistfulness to reflect on a memory when you can conjure up how it makes you feel right in the moment?
3. The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
The genius comedy filmmaker team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker — the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, along with their friend Jim Abrahams — set the bar for comedy phenomenally high in the 80s, influencing countless comedians in the decades since. One of their staples was packing even the end credits of a film with gags, such as in The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, when they followed the credits for Foremen with the personal attributes of boxer George Foremen.
But they saved the best bit for last, when the credits finish rolling and we hear then-President George H.W. Bush trying to get his head around his administration's domestic policy: “All right, let's see if I got this straight now: energy efficiency — good; drilling in arctic national wildlife refuge — bad.” We then hear a secret serviceman ask Bush if he's doing okay in there, and hear a toilet flush, at which point we realize he's been in the toilet this whole time. Ah, what a simpler time it was when we thought that was this was the worst/dumbest Bush presidency this country would ever face.
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
No one really wanted to go home (or leave the theater) after ditching school and spending a memorable day with Ferris Bueller in 1986 when this groundbreaking comedy premiered, so it should come as no surprise that John Hughes saved one last bit for the very end of the credits, a gift for his most diehard fans.
After the final bar plays of the film's emblematic soundtrack anthem “Oh Yeah” by Yello the screen fades to black before Ferris reappears in his hallway and looks directly into camera, noticing you, the theatergoer. “You're still here?” Ferris asks, puzzled. “It's over. Go home.”
He then looks back one more time and nudges us “Go!” as we're treated to one last “chicha-chicha” and memories of what fun we just had.
1. Airplane!
You can't be the GOAT of the end credits and post-credits scene like Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker and expect not to make the list more than once. This one shouldn't even be controversial — even if you have a drinking problem like Ted Striker, you have to admit that Airplane! has without a doubt the best post-credits scene of all time.
It's so simple, and yet so grand. Early in Airplane!'s delightful romp of a tale, the taxi driver Ted Striker abruptly parks his cab outside the airport so he can go catch the girl of his dreams, Elaine, before she leaves him forever. Tough luck for the passenger in the back of the cab, waiting good-naturedly for Striker as he bolts.
We have so many tears of laughter over the next two hours on board the eponymous plane that everything that came before the flight is pretty much a blur at this point. Until the famous post-credits scene, where the camera cuts back to Striker's cab, still parked halfway on the curb outside the airport, with the poor schmuck still waiting in the back seat, who checks his watch and insists “Well, I'll give him another 20 minutes, but that's it.”
Leave it to these comedic masterminds to remind us of cinema's power to move us, to make us howl with laughter, and to make us forget about Ted Striker's day job before his fateful journey that made him a hero of aviation.
Cheers to all these historic and comedic post-credits scenes of glory, which we are laughing at and enjoying and someday will look back on with much fondness!
