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| Top 10 Movie Jerkfaces |
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| Written by Trent Daniel |
| Monday, 24 May 2010 16:09 |
A ìjerkfaceî is defined as the villain in an anarchic comedy-one in which the hero or heroes of the comedy are competing or rebelling against some form of established institution. The jerkface is either the face of the institution or the heroís main rival. In the best of these comedies, we want to see the jerkface get whatís coming to him, yet he (or she) is often the funniest character in the movie. Without further ado . . .  Dean Wormer (John Vernon)-Animal House (1978)The quintessential jerkface, Dean Wormer represents everything about the Establishment that Delta House is rebelling against. As played by John Vernon, it seems that Dean Wormer has only two emotions: deadly serious and pissed off. He even remains serious as a dead horse is being chain-sawed apart in his office. In the end, when Delta House exacts revenge and Wormer sees an out of control parade float barreling down on him, he delivers his last line with perfect resignation ìI hate those guys.î  Principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones)-Ferris Buellerís Day Off (1986)How could anyone actually hate a guy like Ferris Bueller? To do so, one would have to be either a jealous sister or a total jerkface like Ed Rooney. Rooney is smug enough to see himself as emperor over his small high school kingdom. Thus, it drives him borderline crazy that one kid not only defies him, but can clearly outwit him as well. Ferris so drives Rooney over the edge that Rooney resorts to criminal activities (such as trying to sneak into Ferrisís house). No wonder even the jealous sister bails Ferris out just to further give Rooney his just desserts (including a humbling bus ride home with his minions),  Judge Smails (Ted Knight)-Caddyshack (1980) Perhaps more than any character, Judge Smails looks the part of a jerkface. He is a total pompous ass in his white pants, blue blazer and yachting cap. All his actions say jerkface, from treating the caddies as servants (ìIíve sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber.î) to giving his prized putter the pet name Billy Baroo. He is hysterical, yet it is a joy to see him toppled from his throne by crude newcomer Al Czervik ( HYPERLINK "http://www.who2.com/rodneydangerfield.html" Rodney Dangerfield) and the cocky, quirky new money Ty Webb (Chevy Chase).  Shooter McGavin (Chris MacDonald)-Happy Gilmore (1996)Yet another golf villain (which is fitting, since no sport screams ìEstablishmentî like golf), Shooter McGavin was once the most popular golfer on tour and cannot stand that his popularity has been lost to the ìfish out of waterî Gilmore. His reaction to being taunted by Gilmoreís monstrous former boss (Richard Kiel) is the funniest moment in the movie (barely surpassing Gilmoreís famous fistfight with Bob Barker).  Dean ìCheeseî Pritchard (Jeremy Piven)-Old School (2003)Dean Pritchard is actually a unique spin on the infamous Dean Wormer in Animal House. In Old School, three best friends in their mid 30s try to relive their glory years near their old college campus. Trouble is, it turns out the dean was the butt of many of their pranks and much of his efforts to keep the old schoolers from reforming a fraternity are rooted in payback. He uses any official or legal weapon at his disposal, including having the house boarded up, claiming they violated many university policies (not to worry, as the heroes end up with the deanís house at the end).  Walter Peck (William Atherton)-Ghostbusters (1984) Walter Peck is an EPA rep tasked with investigating the Ghostbusters. His main jerkface role is impeding the heroes at every turn, culminating in him turning off the containment system that housed all the ghosts (thus causing them to run amok in NYC and open the door for the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man). Few villains deserved to be labeled ìdicklessî as much as this one.  Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe)-Wayneís World (1992)Rob Loweís Benjamin Kane best represents a subgenre of jerkfaces-namely, those who try to come off as cool, but are in actuality Establishment through and through. When he stumbles upon the underground cable access hit hosted by Wayne and Garth, he hires them for the ìhugeî sum of $5000 each, starts selling them out and instantly starts trying to steal Wayneís budding love interest (Tia Carrere) through both his fluent Cantonese and special condoms (Garth: ìRibbed. For her pleasure. Ewwwwww!î)  Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman)-Blazing Saddles (1975)Korman is wonderfully slimy in this comedy classic. He plays a dastardly attorney general who secretly funds a gang of thugs hired to scare off the townsfolk of Rock Ridge, thus enabling the state to run a railroad through their land. Like many great jerkfaces, Lamar eventually outsmarts himself. His plan to send the town a black sheriff (which he banks on offending the townspeople to the point they leave town), of course, backfires, culminating in Lamar getting shot in the nether regions in front of Mannís Chinese theatre (donít ask; just see the movie).  Capt. Lewis (Eileen Brennan)-Private Benjamin (1980)Since anarchic comedies are decidedly male oriented, it seems inevitable that most jerkfaces are male. Eileen Brennanís Captain Lewis is the best of all female jerkfaces. Initially, she can barely contain her delight in the opportunity to torment the spoiled princess Benjamin (Goldie Hawn). It clearly and increasingly grates on her nerves when Benjamin proves to be much more resilient than she thought.  Derek (Adam Scott)-Stepbrothers (2008) Derek is a strong example of a small-scale jerkface in that he is the ìidealî sibling in the family. Derek is the younger brother of Brennan (Will Ferrel), yet is much more successful financially and has an oddly perfect family-one that sings in the car, yet is clearly bursting at the seems (the wife hates him and views her life as a living hell). Derekís grating habit of wearing a blu-tooth in his ear constantly on adds to his jerkface qualities. In a way, it is not surprising that the wife instantly falls in lust with Brennanís stepbrother Dale (John C Reilly) when Dale punches Derek in the face. |
| Last Updated on Monday, 24 May 2010 16:23 |
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