'Weird Al' Yankovic explains his 5 favorite comedy films

“Weird Al” Yankovic shaped the humor of many of pop culture's funniest comedians, including Patton Oswalt, The lonely island, and Garfunkel and Oates. But which comedy inspires Weird Al?

As Yankovic's delightful biopic parody, Weird: the Al Yankovic storyjumping from its limited home on Roku to wider availability on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD, we celebrated the occasion by talking to Yankovic about his five favorite comedy films of all time.

Some will be obvious to fans (Yankovic's adoration for Top secret is no secret), but others may surprise them, like his love for an underrated 1970s family comedy about an American spy's attempt to stop a global plot that would cause rampant economic inflation.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Polygon: In 2018 you told our sister site Vulture that Top secret is the funniest movie ever made. Do you remember the first time you saw it?

“Weird Al” Yankovic: I do. It was during the first cinema screening, which would have been in 1984. I remember the woman I took to see the movie – I think it was the woman I wrote “One more minute” about. But I remember being in the theater – I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in a theater in my life. I was surprised at how funny that movie was.

I wanted to make my top five list a little diverse for you guys – I was tempted to put two or three Zucker Brothers films on there because how could you stop Aeroplane! or Naked gun? But if I had to choose one from their oeuvre, I would go with it Top secretbecause I think that's still my favorite movie of all time.

When did you know this was your favorite?

I don't know if I walked out and said, “That's the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life.” But looking back years later, I don't think I've ever had such a reaction to a movie in the theater before. So it stuck with me. The feeling I had watching the movie has never gone away. I walked out of the theater and thought: I don't know how that could have been better.

I remember memorizing every line of this movie in high school and being avoided like a dork. When I went to college it was a successful Broadway musical. As someone who has been on the tip of the spear of nerd culture, how have you seen pop culture change when it comes to the nerdy and weird?

You probably know this, but that whole phenomenon of quoting The Holy Grail is a line in my song “White and nerdy.” That was some kind of nerd code in high school. Like, if you're hip The Holy Grail, you were part of the nerd elite. That's how I always talked to my friends – in Monty Python quotes. With the bad British accent, you know.

I think the world has caught up with nerds to the point that now you're no longer excluded because you're a nerd. People brag about their nerd reputation. And Spama lot is a big hit on Broadway.

I actually need to see it Spama lot last weekend. I did a little Broadway weekend where I saw Gutenberg! The musicaland I saw Dan Radcliffe come in We roll along happily. I have to see it Spama lot. And I was very happy because Taran Killam, a friend of mine, is currently in the musical. And because he knew I was in the audience, he started singing some of my lyrics during the show. He did a lot, including the chorus of “Frank's television from 2000”, which is a kind of deep cut. I don't think anyone else in the theater knew what he was doing. But I did!

I love the microtargeting! In that 2018 Vulture interview, you talked about how some jokes land Top secret are stupid. And you said, “It's fun to combine the very smart comedy with dumb comedy. That's my favorite balance.”

And that's extremely Python!

What about that type of brew do you find so appealing?

It's hard to say. I like to think I'm a fairly smart person, but I also like really stupid humor. I think if you mix them up, the smart stuff makes you feel less guilty about enjoying the dumb stuff.

You started high school at the age of twelve and graduated as valedictorian at the age of sixteen. Do you think your younger yet extremely precocious nature was the cause of your tendency to mix smart and foolish?

I was the prototypical nerd in high school. And I had an unusual sense of humor. I certainly didn't fit in in many places, especially not socially. So yeah, I think so. That kind of humor was tailor-made for me. And that's how I found my people, my friends. The people who enjoyed the same kind of humor as I did.

I see Daniel Radcliffe come in Foreign, he really nails your energy even though he looks nothing like you. You can tell he shares your sense of humor. There is a famous Graham Norton interview where Radcliffe sings a Tom Lehrer song. And it hit me: he's just like you!

(laughs)

Have you two bonded? Do you feel some kind of synchronicity?

I had never met Daniel Radcliffe (before Foreign). When I told him about making the film, I wrote about that moment in my “letters of introduction.” Like, “I saw you The Graham Norton Show Doing “The Elements Song,” and I feel like we're kindred spirits because we're both big Tom Lehrer fans. I feel like we really get along well.”

When we first announced that Daniel Radcliffe would be starring in the film, there were a lot of people who thought: What?! Some people didn't get it. Because it's not like he would be the first person you would necessarily think of playing me in a biopic. But I knew that Daniel had the same sense of humor as I did, and the same kind of energy. And I just knew in my heart that he could pull it off.

This was popular at the time, but today it is the least known choice. It's been on my to-do list for a few years, so I finally watched it prior to this interview and was sold. For young people who have never heard of it: what's your pitch?

I think it is a perfectly written and perfectly acted film. The script is as tight as your typical odd couple road movie thing. It is similar to Midnight run that way, which would have been another item on my list if it had been a little longer. I love that movie too.

(The inlaws) is actually about two people. It's a dim-witted doctor, played by Alan Arkin, along with a man who may or may not be a CIA agent, played by Peter Falk. They're both just so funny in their roles. I saw that in college at the Chumash Auditorium. I remember laughing a lot and thinking this was another perfect movie.

UHF trivia: Michael Lembeck, who played the young groom in the film, was my acting coach UHF. You know, his father was Harvey Lembeck. He played the gang leader in all those Annette Funicello surfing films.

Foreign goes in some unexpected directions with its alternate reality of popular culture. How did Lumbar puncture influence you as an artist who likes to combine the real and the fictional?

As I said in the commentary of my film (Ed. remark: The commentary is included in the Foreign Blu-ray), Lumbar puncture was kind of the OG of rock mockumentary. And I just want to give a shoutout 🙁This is a spinal tap director) Rob Reiner has made a lot of my favorite comedy films. And (Lumbar puncture co-writer/co-star) Christopher Guest has made a lot of my favorite comedy films. Many of these would also have been on this list if the list had been larger.

(Lumbar puncture) got me thinking about combining fact with fiction. You only have to tweak it a little bit to make it satirical. That's why this movie has had such a big impact on musicians and rock bands over the years – because it's not that far from the truth. How many times have I walked through the cavernous backstage shouting, “Hello, Cleveland!”? It comes very close to reality. And that makes it so impactful.

Some critics and fans saw it Foreign and were like, This biopic is not reality! How dare you, good sir?! Was that a reaction you expected while making the film?

I really wanted to confuse people. In fact, I clearly wanted to promote the film because I wanted people to see it. But part of me wanted people to go in knowing nothing about (the movie) so that they would think, at least for the first half hour, that they were watching a real biopic.

And there are such people who still have that experience. It amuses me to find out at what part of the movie they realized they weren't watching a simple biopic. And there are people who think it's all true. They think I died in 1985. And you can't convince them otherwise.

This was the biggest surprise of your five choices, as the Coen brothers have made heavier, more Oscar-friendly comedies and dramas. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense: this movie is so slapstick. And Nicolas Cage is kidding you. His wardrobe is the Weird Al Hawaiian shirt, straight out of the '80s. I'd like to know: What did you like so much about this movie when you first saw it?

It was like watching a live-action cartoon. I love the Coen brothers. This is my favorite movie they ever made. I just thought it was hilarious. I loved Nicolas Cage.

And speaking of circumstances, I actually remember who I saw this with in the theater. I had a date with the late, great Nicolette Larson. We have to see it founding Arizona. And I remember annoying her for weeks by yodelling – that stuck in my head forever.

That car chase with the Pampers. John Goodman puts a drumstick to his head. Weird little things, little choices. I don't know if they are active choices or directorial choices, but I really liked the sensitivity of the entire film. It was very strange, but there was also a lot of heart in it.

One last question: you've made films. It's clear that you made music. Would you ever do a video game?

Certainly. I mean, I'm not against it. I like video games. Once the pandemic started, I became absolutely addicted to video games. If someone would come to me and put me in the right field, absolutely!