8 Funny Moments In Jaws You Probably Missed
While often cited as one of the scariest and most suspenseful movies ever made, Jaws is also damn funny. The constant bickering between Quint and Hooper and the “A whaaaaaaat?” guy still getting out loud laughs from theatre audiences when the 1975 shark classic got an IMAX and 3-D re-release this year.
The perfect casting and inspired direction allow for some truly hysterical moments in a movie more known for terror and blood. Much of the humour is down to Carl Gottlieb’s reworking of Peter Benchley initial screenplay with director Steven Spielberg famously asked the comedy writer to ‘eviserate’. However, beyond the obvious jokes and charcters jostling, Jaws is packed full of funny moments so subtle that you may have missed. Here are 8 of our favourites.
The frustrated ferry driver
Toward the end of the scene that takes place on the Amity Island ferry where Mayor Vaughn persuades Chief Brody to not “…rush into anything serious…”, we can see the ferry they are riding has almost reached the other side of the water. When almost within touching distance of the dock, Mayor Vauggn calls out to the ferry driver “You can take us back now.”. Look carefully and you can see the ferry driver shaking his head in frustration at having wasted his time!
2. Watch your head, Chief!
While on the way to the big town meeting, the residents, business owners and Amity Island authorities are walking through the corridors of the town hall. While being quizzed by Selectwoman Taft, Chief Brody bangs his head on a sign hanging outside one of the offices. Much like the Stormtrooper who accidentally bangs their head on a blast door in Star Wars (1977), thankfully Chief Brody is a much better shot!
3. Oblivious Hendricks
Not trusted to print a legible ‘beach closed’ sign, Deputy Hendricks is Jaws’ comic relief. Left to his own devices, Hendricks finds mischeif - see Jaws 2 and power cables. However, there is one moment in Jaws that not only sums up the character but also will always get a laugh - once you spot it.
When Chief Brody is totally overwhelmed by the amount of shark hunters answering to Mrs Kintner’s advert, he looks to Hendricks for support. While on a call, Brody sees Hendricks stood outside relaxed, smoking a cigarette. Brody throws something at the window to get Hendricks’ attention. Hendricks hears the noise, turns to Brody and gives him a wave and big smile - completely oblivious to the chaos Brody is dealing with!
4. Childish playground bullying
When the ‘bozos’ who caught “a shark, not THE shark” are on the dock trying to identify the species of fish they have strung up, Hooper informs them it is a Tiger shark. A few monents later, Hooper is surrounded by the fishermen who are concerned about the shark’s bite radius. Not looking to lose their bounty on a technicality, one of them resorts to childish playground bullying tactics - by blowing on Hooper’s neck.
5. Calm down, dear!
Mayor Vaughn loves the limelight - as long as it makes look good. With a lot riding on restoring Amity Island’s reputation as THE summer swimming holiday destination, it’s imperative that any and all media is handled as well as possible.
While being interviewed for a TV news broadcast (presumably by Jaws author Peter Benchley’s reporter), Mayor Vaughn is surrounded by a crowd of young and very entusiatic holidaymakers. When they get over excited by a possible TV appearance, Amity’s newspaper editor Meadows (played by Jaws screenwriter Carl Gottlieb) steps in like an annoyed parent to calm the crowd and ensure Larry looks good!
6. Binoculars at the ready
With Mayor Vaughn getting his wish - namely open and very busy beaches - some tourists have come to Amity Island to swim, while other have come to watch the swimmers get chewwed up. Or at least that’s how it seems.
Once the alarm is raised that a shark may be in the water (“No whistles! No whistles!“), 5 older beach goers instantly raise binoculars up to get a better view of the action. While funny, this split second cut away is a comment on our morbid obsession with danger as entertainment and our readiness to watch while others suffer.
7. Not such pretty good stuff
Quint is a man’s man. And a man’s man makes his own alcohol and is damn proud of it. But it also allows for Quint to test his potential crew mates. Quint hands Brody a shot glass with a clear liquid in it, saying it’s ‘pretty good stuff’ he’s made himself. Cautiously, Brody drinks it. When Quint isn’t looking, Martin promptly spits it out. As the action starts to focus on Quint again, Martin tries to do Hooper a solid and subtley tells him '“Don’t drink that.” Hooper drinks it anyway and then coughs and splutters when trying to get Quint’s attention. He should have listned to Martin!
8. Macho Martin
One of the key themes in Jaws is masculinity with Martin Brody’s character going through quite a transformation through the course of the movie. While quite a heavy theme to include in a piece of popcorn entertainment, there is a hilarious moment after Hooper and Quint have finished comparing scars when Martin looks down at his abdomen, presumably at an appendix scar, gives it a little rub and decides it’s not worth it bringing up. Fantastic storytelling that gives us a reason to giggle and feel sorry for the character at the same time.
What do you think of our list of funniest Jaws moments you probably missed? Did WE miss anything? tell us in the comments.
Words by Ross Williams
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