Bruce Willis’ one and only favourite movie of all time: “It’s just hysterical and terrific”
Even though he knew how to drop a one-liner better than most of his contemporaries, during his reign as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Bruce Willis was never considered a particularly funny guy.
That’s strange in itself, considering he rose to mainstream prominence starring opposite Cybill Shepherd on Moonlighting, winning a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy for his efforts, while the only other major awards recognition of his career came when he claimed an Emmy for guest-starring in Friends.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, with Robert Zemeckis’ cult favourite Death Becomes Her one of the most prominent, but for the most part, Willis struggled when aiming for the funny bone. His movies had plenty of funny moments, but on the big screen at least, comedy wasn’t his strongest suit.
And yet, one of the greatest comedy flicks ever made endures as his one and only favourite movie of all time. The Die Hard icon watched it at least once a year, which wasn’t as often as he watched Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, strangely enough, but it stuck with him throughout his life as the best motion picture he’d ever have the pleasure of laying eyes on.
“I have a few favourites that I watch in regular rotation,” he explained to Cindy Pearlman. “My favourite of all is Dr Strangelove. I love Kubrick, and that film in particular is one of the coolest, funniest, and most satirical films ever made, plus it’s one of the darkest, too.”
It’s never been a secret that Willis adores Stanley Kubrick’s farcical wartime comedy, and while there were many other films vying for consideration to be called the actor’s all-time favourite, when push came to shove, none of them stood a shot at dislodging Peter Sellers’ towering tour de force from its perch.
“I love George C Scott’s work in it,” he added, making sure that Kubrick and Sellers didn’t hog all of the glory. “His speech when he goes through his five points is just hilarious. I also love the end speech with Dr Strangelove, and when he’s discussing what he can do to keep the human race alive underground. It’s just hysterical and terrific.”
All are valid points, and he’s hardly the only star of his generation who considers Kubrick’s ‘Best Picture’-nominated caper to be the bastion of onscreen comedic excellence. More than 70 years after its release, and Dr Strangelove remains the benchmark for Hollywood satire that countless filmmakers have cited as a massive influence and inspiration, whether they’ve tried to emulate it or not.
For Willis, as soon as he saw it for the first time, he fell in love. From that point on, no matter how many movies he watched, none of them could hold a candle to a comedy most people would agree has rarely, if ever, been bettered in American cinema.
