Best moments of breaking the 4th wall
When you're an actor there's a thing known as the 4th wall, it's that invisible barrier that actors use to separate themselves from the audience. it creates a separate reality and is why we feel like we're watching someone elses life. However sometimes the characters (Or the actors themselves) break and tell us something directly or do something to break the boundaries of a show... this is a list of some of those moments.
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- DirectorGerry CohenStarsDrew CareyDiedrich BaderChrista MillerDrew laments the show's lack of Emmy's but vows no tear-jerking story. Kate is rushed to the hospital and lapses into a coma. Lewis agonizes in single-spotlight soliloquies about his insensitivity. Oswald is a kleptomaniac. Mimi is OCD.The episode itself begins with Drew talking directly to the audience about how the show had never won an emmy and how the only way they could is if they did a hammy dramatic episode to appeal to the voters, but that they weren't going to do that... then they proceeded to do just that. In the middle of the episode Craig Ferguson and Kathy Kinney basically insist that both of them deserve the emmy, but they do so in a strange "In character"sort of way. The episode itself is one of the show's more brilliant moments where it not only breaks the forth wall but perfectly mocks all those clichés that we see in those after school specials, from homeless ladies giving birth to people coming out as gay. In general it's just a fun episode with a lot of great moments that make us remember it's still a bunch of awesome actors (Who really should've gotten an emmy)
- DirectorDavid SilvermanStarsDan CastellanetaJulie KavnerNancy CartwrightAfter Homer pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons are declared fugitives.At the beginning of the movie the Simpson family is watching the Itchy and Scratchy movie, it all seems to be pretty much an average moment when homer stands up and says "Why would we come to pay for something when we can see it at home for free? Everyone in this theatre is a sucker, especially you" and then he points right out at the very audience watching the movie. The risk of calling the very audience watching your movie a sucker is huge but the Simpson's gets away with it because they're an institution and thus can get away with anything.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.The first rule of Fight Club is you should not let Tyler Durden be in charge of the projector of your movie. Yeah you all thought I was going to mention the narrator didn't you? Well no, this moment is more subtle but it's definitely a 4th wall moment. During the movie we learn about Tyler's little habit of splicing a few frames of porn into the middle of a movie... during the final sequence of this movie there is indeed a few frames of porn spliced into the middle of it. It's very subtle but it's that subtlety that makes it such a good 4th wall moment.
- CreatorDavid E. KelleyStarsJames SpaderWilliam ShatnerCandice BergenBoston Legal is a spin-off of the long-running David E. Kelley series The Practice (1997), following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore (James Spader) at the legal firm of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.it's so hard to pick just one moment with this show because there are so many. Shatner's character makes a million Star Trek jokes, characters hold cue cards, mention the show by name, tell the theme music to start and in some cases even sing along with it. Every episode that 4th wall is broken with relish, but one in particular does stick in my mind. In the final episode John Larroquette's character is trying a case against the TV industry and says "In fast the only show that still hires the elderly is Bo- Well I can't say that that'd be breaking the wall"... not only did he almost mention the show itself, he points to the cameras in the court room and then just keeps going. All these breakings of the 4th wall are done beautifully and perfectly in character.
- 1997–200350mTV-PG9.7 (11K)TV EpisodeDirectorJoss WhedonStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonEmma Caulfield FordIn this musical extravaganza, Sunnydale residents find themselves bursting into song, and flame, when a demon attempts to make Dawn his bride.This is a very specific moment that happens in the episode but it's just pure genius. Just before Buffy and the gang go to defeat the villain of the episode they're told by one of his henchemnt that the villain has kidnapped Dawn and will only return her in exchange for Buffy, leading Buffy to say "Dawn's in trouble... must be tuesday", tuesday of course was the day that Buffy always aired so anytime anyone was in trouble, it was always on a tuesday. A subtle moment, but a fun one. This episode actually had a few other moments, like Willow singing "I think this line's mostly filler" and Anya actually pointing out that in her house if felt like there was 3 walls, no actual 4th wall.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancThe short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.Yes we all know this episode where Daffy is being tormented by a mysterious painter who is animating him... and that right there is pure 4th wall destruction, we not only get the character directly addressing the person watching, the person watching is seemingly altering the scene with every moment. It's a wild wacky episode filled with great moments where Daffy yells at us directly
- DirectorGerry CohenStarsEd O'NeillKatey SagalAmanda BearseWhen Kelly auditions for a part in a Fox network sitcom she happens to mention some stories about her family which the producer likes better then the original script.One moment of forth wall breaking that is incredibly subtle, but worthy of note. After the Sitcom based on the life of the Bundy family is cancelled, Marcy remarks that it was cancelled because "Some Woman in Michigan didn't like it", this is actually referring to a real woman in michigan who attempted to get Married With Children cancelled because... well, she didn't like it. This show in general also had several moments of Al just directly addressing the audience, but this one was so specific that I had to list it.
- DirectorParis BarclayStarsHugh LaurieLisa EdelsteinOmar EppsHouse's ex Stacy Warner asks him to treat her husband. House takes over a diagnostics class for a day and presents the class with three case studies of leg pain. As House tells his story and the class gradually fills up with listeners, the class learns a lot about how to be better doctors, and Chase, Foreman and Cameron learn some important details of House's past.An episode chock full of not only imaginitve writing, but also much 4th wall breaking, like House just stating that he wanted Carmen Electra as a patient because it was more appealing, but the best moment is when he looks at the camera and states "It's already been well established that time is not a fixed construct." as time clearly changes in a scene.
- CreatorLinwood BoomerMichael GloubermanGary MurphyStarsFrankie MunizBryan CranstonJustin BerfieldA gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.This one isn't anything specific but it was a huge part of the show for Malcom to turn away in the middle of a scene and talk straight to the audience in a very forward moment of forth wall breaking
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsDavid BoreanazCharisma CarpenterJ. August RichardsLorne's spell to restore Cordelia's memory makes everyone think they're high school students who have been gathered to hunt a vampire: Angel.Throughout this episode the character of Lorne constantly addressed camera, at one point when they come back from commercial, he actually comments about the fine looking products that had just been sold and that we should consider buying them.