The Best “Goof Off” Movie Scenes To Celebrate National Goof Off Day
Today is National Goof Off Day, and if you’re reading this article…well, you’re probably already doing a good job of celebrating. But nothing goes better with goofing off than watching a movie…nothing, perhaps, except goofing off with movies about goofing off. If you’re ready to kick back and relax with your favorite big-screen characters, here’s our breakdown of the best goofing off scenes in cinematic history.
Ghostbusters II
With Frozen Empire out now, many fans have been returning to Ghostbusters II, and that means watching one of our favorite goofing off scenes: when our favorite scientists make a toaster dance by putting some “mood slime” in it and cranking some tunes. These guys might tell you this was just part of their research, but just look at Egon smiling and bobbing his head while the toaster jams out to the sweet music of Jackie Wilson. Speaking of Egon, it was right before this that we got the hilariously disturbing revelation that he’s been sleeping with the mood slime.
Busting, it seems, really does make you feel good, especially on a day of goofing off.
Avengers
While it still has a few too many quips for my taste (not everything has to be a punchline, Iron Man), the first Avengers movie still holds up as a “marvel” (pun mostly not intended) of superhero cinema. It also has one of our favorite goof-off scenes in which an eagle-eyed Tony Stark spots that one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. employees is secretly playing Galaga. Honestly, the only thing that could have made watching this character blowing his work off better is if we saw him hastily switch back to an Excel screen after Tony calls him out.
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection is a misunderstood film that often divides fans of the franchise. Nothing is divisive, however, about the cute scene where a young alien boy teaches the android Data how to have fun. In addition to being heartwarming, this scene underscores a fundamental truth: if Data really wants to be more human, he needs to master the fine art of goofing off.
Empire Records
Nobody straddles the fine line between working hard and hardly working better than the young employees in Empire Records. In the scene where they open the store, the kids have made everything into a singalong game, including sweeping up and brewing some coffee. Honestly, if the average workplace was like this, there would never have been a need to invent National Goof Off Day in the first place.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
James Gunn stunned us all when he made Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 just as fiercely funny as the first film. A big part of the film’s appeal is baby Groot, who spends the movie’s opening credits dancing around while his teammates are in a life-and-death battle. He looks so happy while “Mr. Blue Sky” plays that we’re pretty sure he’ll have Star-Lord celebrating “National Groot Off Day” before you know it.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Most of the heroes in the first Star Wars movie are pretty focused, but that’s not always true of the bad guys. Pay close attention to the Stormtroopers. Obi-Wan sneaks by in the tractor control area, and you’ll discover that they stopped looking for intruders so they could discuss some new space car models. That’s right, true believers: the first Death Star might still be operational, and Luke Skywalker either converted or killed if these two random soldiers weren’t too busy goofing off to do their job.
