A while back while I was talking to someone about a movie jumping the shark, they asked me what that meant exactly. My initial response was that it was the moment when something goes wrong. However, to discuss what “jumping the shark” means, we have to discuss where the phrase comes from. The phrase, “jumping the shark” has its origins in an episode of Happy Days when Henry Winkler’s character, The Fonz is water-skiing and uses a ramp to literally jump a shark. This is the scene in question:
Jumping the shark is usually described as the moment when things take a turn for the worse. In the case of films and television, it is the moment when the audience’s suspension of disbelief is completely wrecked and they are taken out of the moment and reminded that they are watching a television show or movie. This scene that I pointed to is part of an episode that most people point to when asked when Happy Days started going downhill. It was ludicrous and completely silly. Because of that, the phrase “jumping the shark” came into existence. Over the decades, it’s been used as a term to describe moments in movies where a moment is so ridiculous it basically ruins the rest of the experience. The Dallas TV show back in the 70’s jumped the shark because of how the show ended. The ending of the show pretty much negated the entire final season. Now, the moment when a show or film “jumps the shark” is entirely subjective, because some people are better at suspending their disbelief than others.
One of the more recent examples of this phrase being used was when the character of Indiana Jones survived a nuclear explosion by hiding himself in a refrigerator in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. At this point, a lot of people were aware of the phrase “jumping the shark,” but Crystal Skull gave rise to a new variation: Nuking the fridge. Honestly, it was a silly moment, but the entire Indiana Jones series were littered with silly moments. That’s what made them fun. The moment that took me out of Crystal Skull was the whole “swinging with monkeys” moment towards the end of the film. That was just stupid. Now, when a moment in a film or TV show ruin the rest of the experience? Not necessarily. When it comes to Crystal Skull, I can look past the monkey business and enjoy the film for the entertaining ride that it is. That’s not to say that there aren’t moments in other shows and films that ruin the experience. For a lot of people, especially with The Last Jedi, they felt that the series jumped the shark because of how Luke Skywalker was portrayed in Episode VIII. It’s one of those things that is subjective, but I can understand how people feel that way. When it comes to Star Wars, my suspension of disbelief was shattered when Jar Jar Binks showed up in Episode I. While I have softened on the character over the past few years, the character rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and most will point to Binks as the character that made the film jump the shark.
Jumping the shark can refer to either a very small moment that just seems out of place, to an entire film or show that screws up so badly in its execution that there is no way to suspend your disbelief. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is notorious for jumping the shark on so many levels. From the writing to the horrendous special effects, the film was littered with moments that really took you out of the film. The CGI claws were absolutely terrible and the characterizations that weren’t Wolverine were genuinely awful. Ghostbusters 2016 is another prime example of a film that jumps the shark. Why? Anytime the film stops and basically yells, “Hey, look at me: I’m a Ghostbusters movie!” is a moment that grinds the film to a halt. The cameo by Bill Murray basically ruined the whole thing for me.
Now, can the phrase be used as a positive instead of a negative? The answer……is yes. A lot of my favorite comedies tend to work because of this. Deadpool is an action-comedy that takes moments that would take you out of the film and has fun with it with multiple fourth-wall breaks with the character addressing the audience directly. It has to be written in such a way that it feels appropriate for the film or show for which it is intended. A lot of my favorite moments in film are ones that would feel out of place in other films. For example. In Army of Darkness, Ash has to find the Book of the Dead in an ancient graveyard and when he screws up the incantation, he’s attacked by multiple skeletal arms from the ground. Here’s the clip in question:
In other horror movies, a scene like that would ruin the moment and experience, especially with the cartoon sound effects. For Army of Darkness, it’s perfect, because the tone of the film is more slapstick comedy than horror, so such moments don’t take you out of the film. You expect stuff like that. Same thing goes for movie spoofs like Airplane! and Spaceballs. Those movies are built around those moments of silliness. The only way that those films could jump the shark is if the tone suddenly jumps from slapstick comedy to dead serious drama. It’s not appropriate for the film and the sudden shift in tone could throw people for a loop. You really don’t want to do that. You have to try and maintain a consistent tone throughout. You can have various moments of seriousness or comedy, but overall, you have to stick with one or the other. Otherwise, your film will end up “jumping the shark.” Well, that’s my interpretation of the phrase and how it is used. So….what moments do you guys think that “jump the shark?”