r/community • u/cannibalaaa • 2d ago
Discussion Watching every Abed reference
So recently I watched Community for the third time as I watch it every 4 years or so. Every time I watch it I end up realizing stuff I have never realized before, and every single time I find myself relating to another character. This time it was Abed. I believe its mostly because as I got older I got weirder as one does(hope I am not the only one) and watching him being the weirdest, cutest character ever written in a show made me appreciate his character more.
So I decided as a person who doesn't love movies a lot(was always a bookworm my whole life) I decided to watch every movie that was referenced by Abed, or was referenced in a way in the show and I wanted to share the list with you guys if any other person here wants to do the same thing.
Now the list is not mine, I found it on Youtube, you can find the video yourself on Youtube if you search for "Community and its Movie References Side by Side". Great video, you should definitely check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Made me appreciate the show even more.
Most of the movies referenced are really well known, actually almost all of them are, but still it looks like a great watchlist even if you have already seen them all.
Cool. Cool cool cool:
- 28 Days Later
- The Matrix
- The Terminator
- T2
- Die Hard
- Face Off
- Predator
- GoodFellas
- Rambo (not sure which one)
- HellRaiser
- The Professional
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Star Wars The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars A New Hope
- Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
- Entourage
- Platoon
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- Aliens
- Highlander
- The Right Stuff
- Minority Report
- Disclosure
- 2001 A Space Odyssey
- Blade Runner
- Patton
- A Few Good Men
- Rain Man
- Ghost
- An Officer and a Gentleman
- My Dinner with Andre
- Sixteen Candles
- Lost in Translation
- The Sting
- An American Tale
- The Shinning
- LOTR: The Two Towers
- MTV- The Real World: Seattle
- House Party
- The Color of Money
- The Breakfast Club
- Zardoz
- Blazzing Saddles
- MIB
- Hook
- The Beastmaster
- Wallstreet
- The Shawshank Redemption
- The Fugitive
- Pulp Fiction
- The Ring
- Vertigo
- National Lampoon’s Vacation
- Animal House
- Good Will Hunting
- Dead Poets Society
- A Bad Influence
- A Better Tomorrow
- Stripes
- Apocalypse Now
- An American Tail
- Armageddon
- M.A.S.H
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u/yogos15 2d ago
What about Goodfellas?
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u/cannibalaaa 2d ago
The list is from a youtube video as I said in the post so some are missing for sure, I will do a deep research and edit the post soon to add every missing movie hopefully! Thanks!
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u/cannibalaaa 2d ago
Ok so , I updated the list with the ones you guys wrote and deleting the duplicated ones and decided to actually make a literal list with episode names, minutes and such, I am between jobs so I got plenty of time and was wanting to spend this time watching movies as well. Could be a fun project in the time I have to just myself!
At first this was supposed to be just a post which I didn't even think about putting any effort into. Didn't think people would even care as well tbh :)
Seeing how many people commented I am guessing everyone could use a list that is actually good.
Thanks a lot everyone! I will be back with my own and improved list hopefully soon!
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u/Beat-Previous 2d ago
Abed and Shirley also talk about Hellraiser. When she mentions "Pinhead in Space," that's the fourth movie, Hellraiser: Bloodlines.
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u/RealHeadScratcher_TM WTF: Why The Face 2d ago
You like Hellraiser? You know the word Hellraiser?
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u/dahnLaMaison 2d ago edited 2d ago
Stripes with Bill Murray is mentioned in the very first episode but not on this list...
*Edit- also RoboCop aka RowBoat Cop by Britta
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u/j3pl Chang eats the sun and drinks the skies 2d ago edited 2d ago
Blade. (Won't change how mustard tastes.)
The Big Lebowski.
Miller's Crossing.
I Am Legend. (Ben Lyons called it one of the greatest movies ever made.)
Citizen Kane.
Boogie Nights, Carlito's Way, The Cowboy Way, The Hard Way, and Q&A.
The Karate Kid.
Frost/Nixon.
La Bamba.
Ghostbusters.
Tron.
Overboard.
E.T.
Lawnmower Man.
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u/frisbeethecat 2d ago edited 2d ago
Some more for the list in no particular order:
"Modern Warfare" (S01E23). Chang's entrance with a gun in each hand, sunglasses, toothpick/lollipop, tan sportscoat is straight up homage to John Woo's A Better Tomorrow/ A Better Tomorrow II. The gunplay between Chang and Britta, the bomb, is from his The Killer and Hard Boiled. All of these star the inimitable Chow Yun Fat who was so fucking cool, that everybody started shooting guns sideways to show they were badass.
"Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" (S03E18). How is your list missing Apocalypse Now and Hearts of Darkness which are both named in the episode? Definitely watch AN before HoD.
"Environmental Science" (S01E10). The mouse's name, Fievel, and the song Abed and Troy sing is from Don Bluth's animated film An American Tail. This movie out-Disneyed Disney.
"Basic Rocket Science" (S02E04). This ep also references Armageddon.
"Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples* (S02E05). When Shirley says, "I'm reacting the way the world does to movies about making movies about making movies! I mean, come on, Charlie Kaufman! Some of us have work in the morning, damn!" she's referring to the ourobouros meta-shit. Abed failed his movie, but Charlie kinda did, too, but not really... anyway, check out Adaptation and then watch Synecdoche, New York.
Just off the top of my head; I'm sure there's more.
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u/j3pl Chang eats the sun and drinks the skies 2d ago
Fantastic detail here, and well done for mentioning Charlie Kaufman. My recommendation for him would be slightly different: watch Being John Malkovich, then Adaptation, then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Then if you're really up for a challenge, try Synecdoche, New York.
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u/frisbeethecat 2d ago
I believe, in relation to Community, that Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, while excellent films, are not germaine to Shirley's reference of Charlie Kaufman.
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u/j3pl Chang eats the sun and drinks the skies 1d ago
Perhaps not, but someone completely new to Kaufman really should start with Being John Malkovich since it's what established his reputation and since it plays a role in the "meta" nature of Adaptation. And of course, it's also a fantastic and really fun film. (Imagine seeing Adaptation and not understanding those BJM references!)
Eternal Sunshine isn't "meta", but since it earned Kaufman an Oscar it probably made Synecdoche possible. (Like how the Coen brothers probably couldn't have made A Serious Man without all the Oscars from No Country for Old Men a couple years earlier.) So, not essential, but a really important part of Kaufman's journey, and of course it's just a wonderful film to see anyway.
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u/Hungry_crying 12h ago
You missed Capturing the Freidmans
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u/frisbeethecat 11h ago
I know Abed namedropped that doc because his movie "took a completely unexpected turn" but that's a fucked up allusion that ima ignore.
Edit. But you're right. And it's a doc worth seeing. Like Dear Zachary. But never again.
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u/Cheap-Chapter-5920 2d ago
Ok I went through to see if there's anything I should add to my to-watch list and the only one I haven't seen is Blazzing Saddles.
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u/PK_Thundah 2d ago
M.A.S.H.
You might be better off doing a Community watch and just taking notes yourself whenever he references a movie. Those YouTube lists are generally pretty sloppy and miss a lot, as this one does.
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u/Mortambulist 2d ago
The full run (one season) of Cop Rock is on youtube, and may God have mercy on your soul.
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u/shegrowsonyou 2d ago
He references the movie Sneakers. "Bumps in the road from the trunk of a car" or something close to it.
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u/Stryder3136 2d ago
U should include hit shows and movies from his most referenced actors too. Michael Chiklis for example, or.......Nicholas Cage
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u/Revolutionary-Oven46 2d ago
Where you getting House Party from? A party in a house does not House Party make.
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u/aspbergerinparadise 2d ago
Pulp Fiction, Predator, The Breakfast Club, Good Will Hunting, and Empire Strikes Back are all listed twice
Die Hard is listed 4 times
MTV- The Real World: Seattle is a TV show, not a movie
and "The Shinning" is the name of The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror segment referencing the movie "The Shining"
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u/Curious_Condition611 2d ago
There's also at least one example of a reference that Abed *doesn't* get (even though another character expects him to) - when Pierce jokes about the Madea films in S04E05.
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u/mildxsalsa 2d ago
I've been trying to watch everything the show references in any capacity, and building that list outright is half the fun
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u/Mysterious-Roll9589 2d ago
Abed: He's like (someone I can't remember) to (someone else I can't remember) in A Bad Influence
Shirley: he's a bad influence
Abed: you've seen it??