Original doesn’t always mean better. Many of them ain’t exactly original in the first place. Sometimes rip offs are just as good. (eg Dredd vs The Raid). But more often, they are lamer. (eg. Cecil B Demented vs. Why Don’t You Play in Hell , Battle Royale vs. Hunger Games)
Mainly though, they fall under the “dunno which is worst” category. (eg. Ghajini vs. Memento, Fast & the Furious vs. Point Break, Taken vs. Commando….etc)
In rare cases where the rip offs are better than the original, it’s cause for celebration.
Here is my Top 10 countdown of must-watch ripoffs:
10. Magic Mike ripped off by Chocolate City
XL or XXXL, there’s no magic without Chocolate!!
Fact: Magic Mike didn’t become popular for anything outside of the stripping/dancing. No one cares about the drugs and trying to get out of the business nonsense.
Chocolate City, in contrast, unashamedly gives us exactly what we want: a zero-to-hero climb out of poverty, A sinfully glamorous double life, AND the rival bitchiness of Showgirls!!! Totally predictable, but as predictable as a chocolate sundae! I’ll take that over vanilla ice shake any day.
Watch Chocolate City (2015) trailer:
(Someone should make a Chinese version, the main guy should be called “Sexy Tofu”)
9. The Billa/Don franchise: Billa, Billa 2, Don, Don 2 ripped off by The Devil’s Double (2011)
Indian cinema is notorious for ripping off Hollywood and each other. Finally, a drag queen prostitute got sick of their endless Don and Billa rip offs, remakes and sequels and showed them how to do rip off justice to this much ripped-off premise. The Devil’s Double not only ripped off Don / Billa (‘villain replaced by look-alike idea’), it also ripped off the alleged story of Uday Hussein’s body double.
Overkill of lurid sex and violence, featuring awesome performance by loveably-annoying-badass Dominic Cooper (Summer in February, Fleming: The Man who would be Bond), a must watch for fans of the Tyrant TV series.
Watch The Devil’s Double (2011) trailer:
(Only a drag-queen-prostitute can make something this bad ass!!)
Click to watch trailers for Billa, Billa 2 , Don (“Original” 1978)
8. Indecent Proposal (1993) ripped off by Shubhalagnam (1994) and Judaai (Hindi remake 1997)
Ok rich guy offer 1 million dollars to a couple for one night with the couple’s wife. After that, couple swims in a bed of dollar bills. But tension builds between couple and wife gets attracted more to rich guy instead. In the end, rich guy eventually selflessly leaves.
In our ripoffs, it’s a rich, spoiled modern London-educated Indian girl who got touched by a married man (with 2 little kids), proposed to live in his family as a wife for 10 million rupees. Original wife unhappy with husband’s income forces him to agree. Wife so happy that she sleeps with money on bed, asking husband to go to rich woman as there’s no more space on bed for him.
Eventually husband gets attracted to rich girl and tension builds between the couple. In the end rich girl selflessly leaves.
Have you ever heard an original song that sounded better when re sung by a female singer? Shubhalagnam and its remakes are exactly that. It is a blatant Telugu rip off that turns the gender around. Might sound corny, but when you watch it, it totally makes sense, and it is so good that it makes the original sound sleazy and contrived.
Not only is Shubhalagnam and its remakes so much better, it seems tailor made to be made in the Indian context. Firstly India has a more family focused culture. The story is able to live and breath better, fleshing out and addressing more issues than Las Vegas can. In a nutshell, it’s got more heart. And like the proposals, the difference is that the original is about sex, while this is about love.
Rich girl character starts as a spoiled stuckup, got touched by husband’s tradition Indian values and manliness that she transform into a traditional and pious Indian lady, touching his heart and ours! No one gives a shit about the rich guy’s motives and motivations in Indecent Proposal.
Shubhalagnam full movie is available in YouTube, but we are still waiting for the english subtitles…
Watch Judaai trailer: ( no subs either!)
7. King Kong (1933) ripped off by Queen Kong (1976)
After the Faye Wray ape romance of ’33, countless bad remakes and rip offs piled up eg. Mighty Peking Man (read our review), Konga, Mighty Joe Young, A.P.E, Mighty Gorga... worst of the bunch had to be Peter Jackson’s cartoony remake…
Much maligned Queen Kong is the most intelligent of the lot. It came out the same year as the 2nd most awful 1976 King Kong remake and was sued out of the cinemas. Cramped with lots of faux feminist humour, it is a comedy/spoof more than a monster movie. Something that would not have been made today. A real treat for aficionados of campy trash humour. As a British exploitation production, most of the trashy humour might get lost with those not in tune with Benny Hill and Monty Python.
Watch Queen Kong (1976) trailer: (Camp fun!)
6. Bloodsport (1988) ripped off by Shootfighter (1993)
Bloodsport – Not all that original, but well-known amongst tournament, pitfighting style movies. Arguably inspired Mortal Kombat, the original 1992 video game. The game was originally intended as a Van Damme tie-in which didn’t happen – But the split groin strike move did.
Fatalities, like in the Mortal Kombat game, is the main reason why Shootfighter trumps Bloodsport. Coincidentally released right after the game’s success, it also ripped off Kano’s heart ripping fatality. It’s got silly characters like a slippery man fighter, cheesy moves and “fighters” who wouldn’t look out of place in WWE (WWF then) or a porn movie. Oh yes, it’s got Bolo Yueng too! As a good guy!
Watch Shootfighter (1992) trailer: (Excellent time waster)
5. She Wolf of the SS ripped off by Men Behind the Sun a.k.a 黑太阳 731 (1988)
The Nazis of the East exploitation movie drops the sex, boobies and humour (unless you’re sick or old school imperial Japanese) and goes all out on realistic gore and human experimentation. Oops.. Like in the film I will be slapped for calling the Chinese “humans”. They are to be called “Maruta” (wooden logs).
This based on true events (Google “unit 731” for more info) docudrama out ‘gross’ed more prominent nasties of the period like Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. Real cadavers may (most definitely) have been used – because the budget doesn’t seem remotely big enough for the enormous amount of highly realistic bodies!
Especially painful viewing for people of Chinese or Russian descent. If only this movie had more of a following in cult championing markets like say, Japan, it might have been top dog in this genre.
Watch Men Behind the Sun trailer: (Essential viewing for all Japanese.)
4. For your Eyes Only ripped off by For your Height Only.
James Bond 007 vs Weng Weng 003 1/2! Oh Weng Weng, how much better art thou, let me count the ways:
a). Judging by numbers we know who’s superior. James only got female admirers. Weng Weng doesn’t just get too much female attention, he also gets picked up by pedophiles!
b). Weng Weng’s body type poses more threat to your nuts.
c). Too many James Bond, but there is only ONE Weng Weng!!!
d). Weng Weng is bona fide martial artist. Roger Moore is faker.
e). Weng Weng is a well respected crooner – his legendary duet with Imelda Marcos sold over 200,000 bootleg copies. And he even has a awesome rap dedicated to him! Lame ass Roger just talks over music …boo!
f). We have documentary The Search for Weng Weng (2013). But no one bothers to make a Roger Moore documentary.
Watch For Your Height trailer: ( We miss you, Weng Weng!)
3. Deliverance (1972) ripped off by The Rape of Richard Beck a.k.a Deadly Justice (1985)
Rather than Deliverance‘s lame premise devised only to disguise the fact that the movie’s all about that delicious male rape scene, The Rape of Richard Beck does full justice to the “man gets ass rape, squeal like pig” genre.
There’s foreplay: setting up our protagonist as a streetwise, cocky, insensitive bitch, who just had it coming.
Then comes the master stroke: the actual rape was not graphically shown. This is actually good because the whole movie’s cause-effect and consequence is based around that event. Lesser movies would have exploited the scene. But this little TV movie knew where the real devastation of rape truly unfolds…. The anal semen collection…the interrogation of victim… trauma.. effect on social and emotional relationships. Superlative performance by Richard Crenna. Totally opposite to Deliverance where rape was graphic, and the rest was “cover it up”. Same thing, but as different as “making love” is to “just f**king”.
(Ok – lemme give John Boorman some credit, Deliverance is also about egotistical insertion of his own signature recurring images.. hand, emerging, weapon etc…You can our review here)
Watch The Rape of Richard Beck (1985) trailer. (Strongly recommended to watch)
2. Zoolander (2001) ripped off by I want to be Model a.k.a Supermodel aka 我要做 model (2004)
Zoolander has its moments, but in the trash department, it’s got nothing on this 2004 masterpiece. Move aside Zoolander, Mandom is the Man! Starring mandopop singer/idol Ronald Cheng (Vulgaria 2012) who rose to fame as a B-grade Jacky Cheung.
This movie is glorious trash!! Such a blatant rip off, but so much fun, especially in Cantonese, because it can sound so bitchy! The best thing is it’s predictability. It is like a trip to MacDonalds, I’ll get mad if they try to serve me real food there. The problem with Zoolander is that it is too well made. A story like that needs to be trashy. Unlike the original, this one’s got no qualms about making homosexual jokes. Plus Mandom looks 10x more swoon-worthy than Zoolander…
And he’s got a genuine dilemma: he can only make food that looks utterly delicious, but taste crap. He thinks it’s just like how he is, and wants to transcend that – to be more than “just a pretty face” how touching!
Trashy bits from I want to be a Model (Absolutely must watch)
1. American Pie (1999) ripped off by Another Gay Movie (2006)
Once in a blue moon, a ripoff not only surpass the “original”, it transcends the genre and divides as much as unite audience across all tastes, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. Another Gay Movie is like Durian, you either love it to bits or hate it with a passion – regardless whether it is your native food.
The best Tarantino movie ever made. Maybe because it is not made by him! Characterised by mishmash and perversion of genres, laden with homages and references to other movies. AGM does all this without being smug or using a “Cult” or “Cool” genre like blaxploitation, spaghetti western or Kung Fu.
Equally enjoyable or objectionable for straight viewers as it is for gay viewers. This direct copycat gay version of American Pie overloads itself on cliches from traditional straight teen sex comedy, add in all the funny cliches of gaydom which one either views as funny or offensive. Also got bits of racial stereotype jokes which again can be seen either as funny self parody or offensive.
Whatever you think or whichever way you swing, it is always fun to be rolling in stitches as another half of the world pretends it is not funny.
Watch Another Gay Movie trailer: (Categorically MUST watch)
Oh, and do not trust IMDB ratings, I am certain they are rigged.
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