History SelfDeprecation / Film

[[AC:Animated Films]]
* The Sultan of Agrabah, BigGood of ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'', uses this trope in the form of a StealthInsult while lamenting his daughter Jasmine's stubbornness in refusing to accept a husband.
--> '''Sultan''': I don't know where she gets it from. Her mother wasn't nearly so picky.
* In ''Disney/TheLionKing'', when Zazu is asked by Scar to sing a more upbeat song while imprisoned, Zazu sings the first few words of "[[EarWorm It's A Small World]]", to which Scar vehemently shouts, "No! No! Anything but that!" In the Broadway stage version, Zazu instead sings [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast "Be Our Guest"]], and gets the same reaction from Scar. This doubles as a MythologyGag, since ''Beauty and the Beast'' the first Disney animated film that became a musical and paved the way for Lion King to come on Broadway. When ''Beauty and the Beast'' closed, it got replaced with [[Film/MaryPoppins "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"]], and at least one performance has him sing [[Disney/{{Frozen}} Let It Go]]. [[InsistentTerminology Cast Members]] at Ride/DisneyThemeParks also love taking pot shots at "It's A Small World" in general.
* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' has a lot of examples of Disney making fun of all its earlier Disney Princess films, like the over-reliance on TrueLovesKiss as a plot device and the fact that most of their princesses [[FourthDateMarriage marry men they barely know]].
* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', when Chief Bogo [[WhatTheHellHero chews out Judy for disobeying orders and causing a ruckus in Little Rodentia trying to catch a petty criminal]], he also takes the time to poke fun at Disney's reputation for sentimental, idealistic musicals (with a ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' reference, to boot).
-->'''Bogo:''' [[ThisIsReality Life isn't some cartoon musical]] where you sing a little song and your insipid dreams magically come true! So ''let it go''.
* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'' takes the time to poke fun at the Disney Princess franchise some more. When Moana takes offense to Maui calling her "princess", he retorts "[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess]]!" Later, as Moana stares out at the sea contemplatively, Maui snarks "If you start singing, I'm going to throw up."
* ''WesternAnimation/RatchetAndClank2016'': In the first teaser trailer, Qwark, frustrated with the cheap sets and lack of dubstep, calls the movie's animators lazy. As revenge, they remove his textures, make him dance, and then, when he requests an epic logo, they drop it on him.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'' contains a lot of jokes revolving around the movie making fun of itself, such as El Superbeasto complaining about how ridiculous it is that a character in the film had a book that explained how to defeat Dr. Satan and didn't bother to tell him until the film was nearing its end and another character complaining about the movie's gratuitous use of ToiletHumour. One musical number is even dedicated entirely to lambasting the movie for "ripping off ''Film/{{Carrie}}''".
* John Ratzenberger got his chance to poke fun at his tenure with Pixar in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' where his character, Mack, watched car versions of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', and ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. Once he got to the third film, he realized that the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Hamm Truck]], the [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Abominable Snowplow]], and the [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife PT Cruiser Flea]] were all [[LampshadeHanging voiced by the same actor]].
-->'''Mack:''' Hey... they're just using the same actor over and over! What kind of cut-rate production is this?!?

[[AC:Live-Action Films]]
* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger enjoys making fun of himself.
** ''Film/LastActionHero'' can be seen as one very protracted example.
** ''Film/{{Twins}}'' and ''Film/{{Junior}}''. Very few actors besides him could have pulled off ''Junior'', although he had a beautiful chemistry with gifted actors Danny [=DeVito=] and Creator/EmmaThompson.
** There's also the Creator/JackieChan version of ''Film/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays2004'', in which [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Schwarzenegger]] plays a self-obsessed sheikh. How self-obsessed? He has a statue of himself displayed on a pedestal in his hallway. When the plucky heroine is running away from his unwanted marriage proposal, she bumps into the pedestal, causing it to tilt dangerously. Arnold's reaction: "No! My statue of me!" The heroine then gets away from him by ''holding the statue hostage'' until he agrees to let her go. [[note]]By this point, Arnold had already been elected Governor of California.[[/note]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjvrtS7PZA In this old scene,]] from a film adaptation of ''"Duffy's Tavern,"'' Music/BingCrosby assembles a group of peers and friends in the industry, all actors/actresses and performers, and they "rehearse" a rendition of "Swinging On A Star" - but with the animal types describing hackneyed actor personas rather than types of people. The joke, of course, being that each of the "hack actor/actress" types they describe are themselves, or roles they're known for playing - including Bing.
* In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwXFsrp6WBs second trailer]] for ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', Vernon asks if [[DevelopmentGag the Turtles are aliens]], only for April to reply, "No, that's stupid. They're turtles." This is poking fun at an old draft of the script where the Turtles were aliens from outer-space, but was scrapped due to a massive backlash from fans.
* ''Film/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' movie ''[[TheMovie Apocalypse]]'' is a TakeThat to the League themselves, displaying them as petty, spiteful and childish. Ironically, [[spoiler: the characters from the actual programme become more developed as they realise their behaviour is based solely on the way they're written and not on themselves as people]].
* Near the end of ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', Comeau is heard in the background saying "No, I saw it, it's just the comic book is better than the movie."
* In ''Film/{{Steel}}'', Shaq misses a wastebasket basketball shot. Later he's tasked to throw an object into a small opening near the ceiling. His FourthWall breaking response? "I never make these!"
** A similar gag appears in ''Film/ScaryMovie 4'', where he needs to make a basket as part of one of [[Franchise/{{Saw}} Jigsaw's]] schemes. Dr. Phil is also in the room with him, and has a self depreciation moment of his own, eventually having an emotional breakdown over not actually being a doctor.
* In one of Creator/UweBoll's better movies, ''Postal'', the German director has an appearance as himself in a theme park he created called "Lil Germany", which is full of Nazi themes. During an interview, he makes jokes at his own expense, such as funding his terrible movies with Nazi gold and being aroused by all of the little children around him. A little later, Vince Desi, the creator of the ''Postal'' games, tackles Creator/UweBoll and attempts to strangle him for what he's done to his games.
* Every Creator/MelBrooks movie. Ever. Usually featuring a caricature of a Jew played by Brooks (who is in fact Jewish) himself.
* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle'', Karen Sympathy comments that Bullwinkle's jokes have gotten really corny. Bullwinkle's response? "No they haven't. They were ''always'' this bad. [[NostalgiaFilter When you were a kid you didn't notice.]]"
** Bullwinkle repeatedly makes these jokes, arguing that the jokes have not ''become'' "stale and hackneyed" because they always ''were'', and asking "what's the difference?" when being told that "Really Bad Television" was being renamed "Rocky and Bullwinkle Television."
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has a meta example. When Indy confronts Panama Hat and tells him that the Cross of Coronado "belongs in a museum", Panama Hat retorts with: "So do you!" He's saying this to a character in a movie from 1989, who's an obvious throwback to action heroes from the 1930s.
* In ''Film/{{Roxanne}}'', C.D. is unimpressed by a heckler's insult of "big-nose" and one-ups him by delivering twenty superior insults.[[hottip:*:He actually lists 25.]]
* The BBC documentary ''Knuckle: Bare Fist Fighting'' shows Irish Travelers using self deprecation to insult each other. Each prospective boxer loudly insists that he's "no good" at boxing... but he'll ''still'' beat the tar out of the rival clan's champion.
* ''Film/{{Argo}}'' has [[Creator/BenAffleck Ben Affleck's]] character being told "You can teach a rhesus monkey to be a director in a day." Affleck admitted to Creator/{{NPR}}'s Terry Gross in an interview on ''Fresh Air'' that the line was partly him poking fun at himself.
* Creator/HideakiAnno makes a cameo as a doctor in the film ''Welcome To The Quiet Room''. He quickly trips and [[DeathByCameo injures himself very severely]], and is subsequently insulted by one of the nurses.
* ''Film/EightMile''. Alongside the subsequent pretender diss against Papa Doc, this is the main reason for Jimmy's win in the final rap battle. He pre-empts Papa Doc by acknowledging every possible diss he can use against him, but that despite all that he's still fighting on. The crowd admires his honesty, and Papa Doc is left without any material.
* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'' has Seth Rogen and his Hollywood friends play themselves as a bunch of vain, self-centered idiots. The movie begins with the Rapture, when all virtuous people are pulled into heaven in dramatic beams of light. At James Franco's house party, ''nobody notices that anything exceptional has happened''. And then there's [[spoiler:Channing Tatum...]]
* ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' has the Marley brothers sing about how evil they were in life and what they could have done instead of ignoring people's needs. It's also their way of warning Scrooge and telling him that he can atone for his crimes against humanity.
* ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted'', in the grand tradition of self-deprecating humor in the Muppets, has a number called "We're Doing A Sequel" with the following lyric:
-->We're doing a sequel\\
That's what we do in Hollywood\\
And everybody knows\\
[[{{Sequelitis}} That the sequel's never quite as good]]
* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfElmoInGrouchland'', there is a scene with the Sesame Street gang in jail where Big Bird sings the "Alphabet Song" to a bunch of grouches who are in jail with him. Their response: "Lemme outta here! It's torture! Let us out!"
* Creator/NaomiCampbell, notorious for her HairTriggerTemper and AlphaBitch behavior, cameos in ''Film/FatSlags'' as an obnoxious clothing store employee who gets punched in the face after mouthing off to two of her customers.
* In ''Film/{{R100}}'', about halfway through the film, it will occasionally cut to a small focus group who are also watching the film. They make nothing but critical statements about the film and point out plot holes. When it's time to resume watching the film, they reluctantly stub out their cigarettes and trudge back into the theater.
* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse has been doing this a lot lately, mainly in regards to its more obscure and silly properties.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' includes points where no one knows who Star-Lord is (referencing just how unknown a character he is compared to the likes of Thor and Captain America) and one of the characters stating: "This might not be the best idea."
** ''Film/AntMan'' has multiple characters snickering at the name of the character, leading to this line [[MissingTrailerScene in the trailer]].
-->'''Scott''': One question... Is it too late to change the name?
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' has a scene where the characters, in-universe, see ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and argue about which of the Star Wars trilogy is the best, resulting in this line:
-->'''Jean''': [[Film/XMenTheLastStand I think we can all agree the third film is always the worst.]]
* Creator/QuentinTarantino has a tendency to do {{Creator Cameo}}s in his films, but usually casts himself as particularly stupid and unpleasant minor characters who die rapidly and unpleasantly.
* Much of the humor from ''Film/TheKidAndI'' comes from Tom Arnold's unrestrained potshots at himself and his career.
* In ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'', when Baby Pubert becomes a sweet angelic baby due to an illness, Grandmama explains what might become of the child:
-->'''Grandmama:''' He might become...a lawyer.
-->'''Gomez:''' I WON'T LISTEN!
** Though it should be noted that Gomez enjoys being a ''bad'' lawyer with many failed cases while the implication with Baby Pubert is that he might turn out to become a "proper" lawyer, something absolutely horrifying to the Addams.
* ''Film/CloudAtlas'': Cavendish finds a manuscript of Luisa Rey's adventure and dismisses the {{Reincarnation}} angle as far too New Age-y, despite [[LampshadeHanging having a similar birthmark himself]]. He also describes the birthmark in decidedly less romantic imagery than the comet everyone else seems to see it as.
* Creator/RyanReynolds pulls off the ''biggest'' one of these in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2}}'' when during the mid credits scenes, Deadpool first [[spoiler:shoots his former self, [[FanNickname Barakapool]], from ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' so many times as a TakeThat from his previous role in that movie when his mouth was sewn shut, and AsHimself when he first receives the script for ''Film/GreenLantern''.]]
* In the documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse'', which chronicles the TroubledProduction of ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', we see that director Creator/FrancisFordCoppola was not optimistic about the quality of the finished product; when his wife Eleanor compared it to getting a B when you were hoping for an A+, he replied he was going to get an F. He also referred to the movie as ''The Idiodyssey''.
* SciFiHorror AnthologyFilm ''Galaxy Of Horrors'' has some self deprecation built into the wraparound story: The premise is that an astronaut's vessel is breaking down and starts playing the segments of the film as an entertainment program, and he's actively trying to stop the movie (especially because it's taking up fuel that could be used to generate oxygen and let him buy more time to be rescued). At one point he even shouts "I don't want to watch this!" in exasperation.
----

* SciFiHorror AnthologyFilm ''Galaxy Of Horrors'' has some self deprecation built into the wraparound story: The premise is that an astronaut's vessel is breaking down and starts playing the segments of the film as an entertainment program, and he's actively trying to stop the movie (especially because it's taking up fuel that could be used to generate oxygen and let him buy more time to be rescued). At one point he even yells "I don't want to watch this!" in exasperation.

* Creator/RyanReynolds pulls off the ''biggest'' one of these in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2}}'' when during the mid credits scenes, Deadpool first [[spoiler:shoots his former self, [[FanNickname Barakapool]], from ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' so many times as a TakeThat from his previous role in that movie when his mouth was sewn shut, and AsHimself when he first receives the script for ''Film/GreenLantern.]]

** The trailer for ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' includes points where no one knows who Star-Lord is (referencing just how unknown a character he is compared to Thor and Captain America) and one of the characters stating: "This might not be the best idea."

* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse has been doing this a lot lately, mainly in regards to ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' and ''Film/AntMan''.
** The trailer for the former includes points where no one knows who Star-Lord is (referencing just how unknown a character he is compared to Thor and Captain America) and one of the characters stating: "This might not be the best idea."
** The latter has this line in the trailer:

* In the ''Film/RockyAndBullwinkle'' movie, Karen Sympathy comments that Bullwinkle's jokes have gotten really corny. Bullwinkle's response? "No they haven't. They were ''always'' this bad. [[NostalgiaFilter When you were a kid you didn't notice.]]"

* John Ratzenberger got his chance to poke fun at his tenure with Pixar in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' where his character, Mack, watched car versions of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', and ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. Once he got to the third film, he realized that the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Hamm Truck]], the [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc Abominable Snowplow]], and the [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife PT Cruiser Flea]] were all [[LampshadeHanging voiced by the same actor]].
-->'''Mack:''' Hey... they're just using the same actor over and over! What kind of cut-rate production is this?!?

* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfElmoInGrouchland'', there is a scene with the Sesame Street gang in jail where Big Bird sings the "Alphabet Song" to a bunch of grouches who are in jail with him. Their response: "Lemme outta here! It's torture! Let us out!"
* Creator/NaomiCampbell, notorious for her HairTriggerTemper and AlphaBitch behavior, cameos in ''Film/FatSlags'' as an obnoxious clothing store employee who gets punched in the face after mouthing off to two of her customers.
* In ''Film/{{R100}}'', about halfway through the film, it will occasionally cut to a small focus group who are also watching the film. They make nothing but critical statements about the film and point out plot holes. When it's time to resume watching the film, they reluctantly stub out their cigarettes and trudge back into the theater.

That the sequel's never quite as good

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'' contains a lot of jokes revolving around the movie making fun of itself, such as El Superbeasto complaining about how ridiculous it is that a character in the film had a book that explained how to defeat Dr. Satan and didn't bother to tell him until the film was nearing its end and another character complaining about the movie's gratuitous use of ToiletHumour. One musical number is even dedicated entirely to lambasting the movie for "ripping off ''Film/{{Carrie}}''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjvrtS7PZA In this old scene,]] from a film adaptation of ''"Duffy's Tavern,"'' BingCrosby assembles a group of peers and friends in the industry, all actors/actresses and performers, and they "rehearse" a rendition of "Swinging On A Star" - but with the animal types describing hackneyed actor personas rather than types of people. The joke, of course, being that each of the "hack actor/actress" types they describe are themselves, or roles they're known for playing - including Bing.

* HideakiAnno makes a cameo as a doctor in the film ''Welcome To The Quiet Room''. He quickly trips and [[DeathByCameo injures himself very severely]], and is subsequently insulted by one of the nurses.

** There's also the Creator/JackieChan version of ''Film/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'', in which [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Schwarzenegger]] plays a self-obsessed sheikh. How self-obsessed? He has a statue of himself displayed on a pedestal in his hallway. When the plucky heroine is running away from his unwanted marriage proposal, she bumps into the pedestal, causing it to tilt dangerously. Arnold's reaction: "No! My statue of me!" The heroine then gets away from him by ''holding the statue hostage'' until he agrees to let her go. [[note]]By this point, Arnold had already been elected Governor of California.[[/note]]