Here at FilmDrunk, we’re such huge fans of that old comedy trope of the family pet covering his eyes with his paws – usually in response to some slapstick hijinks unfolding before him – that when people can catch their pet in the act, they send the pictures to me. That’s Matt Ufford’s dog, Stella, on the right up there. I don’t know how Matt got that picture, but I imagine it involved a self-timer and a banana peel. Anyway, the animal-covering-its-eyes-with-its-paws reaction shot (the facepaw, if you will) is a time-honored tradition and the pinnacle of zaniness, like a record-scratch sound effect come to life, or a live-action slide-whistle. So when our buddy Oliver Noble recently put together a supercut of just such instances, our only question was “What the hell took you so long?” Check it out below.
The interesting thing about this is to note the human co-stars. Tim Allen, Jim Belushi, Kevin James – I think Tim Allen and Kevin James are actually subject to sneers from the same monkey – Jeff Daniels, Jason Biggs, Charles Grodin, Chuck Norris, and of course, Brendan Fraser. I was actually watching this going “Wait, where’s Brendan Fraser?” and just when I thought he wouldn’t be in it, BOOM, THERE’S F*CKING BRENDAN FRASER! Anyway, I haven’t math’d the science on this, but I suspect there’s an argument to be made that the worse an actor’s cumulative body of work, the more likely he is to be the butt of an animal covering its eyes with its paws at some point in his career.
Here’s the list of movies used. I couldn’t believe he left out the gophers in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but apparently they never actually cover their eyes with their paws, despite being some of the most shoehorned-in animal reaction shots in cinema history.
Movie List (In Order of Appearance):
The Cat in the Hat (2003)
The Shaggy Dog (2006)
K-9 (1989)
Zookeeper (2011)
Dunston Checks In (1996)
Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)
Look Who’s Talking Now (1993)
Cool Dog (2010)
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Evan Almighty (2007)
American Pie (1999)
Hotel for Dogs (2009)
George of the Jungle (1997)
Furry Vengeance (2010)
Beethoven’s 2nd (1993)
George of the Jungle (1997) – second clip
Andre (1994)
Top Dog (1995)
Bingo (1991)
The Little Rascals (1993)
K-9 (1989) – second clip
[Thanks to Oliver at HuffPo Comedy]