Summary
- Many movies don't rely on a script and instead trust the talents of their cast to improvise, resulting in memorable scenes.
- Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Best In Show, Coherence, and This is Spinal Tap all utilized improvisation to varying degrees.
- Improvisation in these films allowed for more realistic performances, enhanced chemistry between actors, and added charm and authenticity to the movies.
Unlike popular belief, not all movies rely on a script, and there are many great movies that trusted their casts’ talents and didn’t need a script. A movie’s script can be an adaptation of other works or an original idea, and its purpose is to indicate the movements, actions, dialogue, expressions, and more that each character needs in specific scenarios and moments in the story. Scripts are key for directors to know how they will film each scene and what each one needs, but as important as scripts are, some movies have proven they aren’t always a must-have.
Many filmmakers are quite welcoming of improvisation from their actors and even encourage them to do so, making way for some of the most memorable scenes in film history. There have been other directors who have fully and almost blindly trusted their actors and let them improvise the entire movie, essentially being movies with “no script”. While the actors improvised most, if not all, of the dialogues, directors often had an outline of each scene and what they needed them to be about, allowing them to keep some structure but without restrictions.
10 Between Two Ferns: The Movie
The movie followed the same style as the web series
Directed by Scott Aukerman, Between Two Ferns: The Movie is a spin-off of the web series of the same name hosted by Zach Galifianakis. It follows Galifianakis as he goes on a road trip to save his reputation by interviewing celebrities in his unique way. Just like in the web series, most of Between Two Ferns: The Movie was improvised, as confirmed by star Lauren Lapkus, who told AV Club in 2019 that they improvised “the majority of the film”, which was key to bringing the charm and comedy of Between Two Ferns: The Movie to the big screen. Aukerman told Vulture that the questions for the guests were written in advance, yet Galifianakis still improvised.
9 The One I Love
Charlie McDowell’s directorial debut didn’t need a script
The One I Love is a surreal comedy thriller directed by Charlie McDowell and starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss. It’s the story of Ethan (Duplass) and Sophie (Moss), who visit a therapist as their marriage begins to crumble. Ethan and Sophie are advised to spend their weekend at a secluded estate, where strange events start to happen. Speaking to IndieWire in 2014, Duplass explained that there was a “highly detailed, highly plotted” script where every scene was carefully detailed, but there was no dialogue written, so every line in The One I Love was improvised.
8 Best In Show
The cast’s impeccable improv skills shone through
Best In Show is a mockumentary comedy directed by Christopher Guest and co-written by him and Eugene Levy. Best In Show follows five entrants in a dog show as they travel to compete in the show. Best In Show has a big cast comprised of some of the best comedians of the decade, such as Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, and Jennifer Coolidge, and in order to seize their comedic and improvisation skills, the cast was only given detailed character biographies and were free to improvise most of the movie.
7 Climax
Climax is unlike any other movie
Gaspar Noé’s Climax is an experimental psychological horror movie written by him. Set in 1996, Climax follows a French dance troupe on a days-long rehearsal in an abandoned school. On the final night, the dancers decide to celebrate with a party, but it takes a dark turn when the bowl of sangria is spiked with LSD and each dancer goes into a confused, agitated, and psychotic state. Noé came up with the idea for the movie, but most of it was unrehearsed and made possible thanks to on-the-spot improvisation by the cast. Unlike most of the movies on this list, the actors not only had the freedom to come up with their lines but also to take their characters and the story wherever they wanted.
6 Coherence
Coherence’s cast was chosen for their improv skills
Coherence is a surreal sci-fi psychological thriller directed and written by James Ward Byrkit. Coherence follows eight friends who get together for a dinner party, which suddenly takes a sinister turn when a series of strange events start to happen after a comet es the Earth. According to Screen Anarchy, Byrkit had a detailed blueprint in mind for how he wanted the film to unfold, but chose improvisational actors and only gave them the basic outline of their characters, their motivations, and major plot points. The actors’ improvised lines made their reactions and interactions a lot more realistic, and their performances were highly praised by critics.
5 Drinking Buddies
Improvisation made the relationships in Drinking Buddies feel more real
Drinking Buddies is a comedy-drama movie written and directed by Joe Swanberg. Drinking Buddies follows Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson), coworkers at a craft brewery who, after a weekend getaway accompanied by their respective partners, realize how much they mean to each other. As part of the Mumblecore film movement, Drinking Buddies’ dialogue was improvised, with the actors only getting outlines with major plot points and what had to happen in each day’s scenes. This brought out the unique chemistry between the cast and made their stories and dynamics a lot more relatable.
4 Blue Valentine
Blue Valentine’s improvisation took its actors by surprise
Blue Valentine is a drama movie directed by Derek Cian. It’s the story of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), from the moment they met to their dysfunctional marriage crumbling as they do their best to raise their daughter. Speaking to IndieWire, Williams said that she loved the script, but on the first day on set, Cian told her that the script was “dead” and if she said “any of those words you’re going to bore me”, so Williams was pushed to improvised, as was Gosling.
3 Like Crazy
Like Crazy’s improvised performances were praised by critics
Like Crazy is a romantic drama movie directed by Drake Doremus. Like Crazy follows American student Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and British student Anna (Felicity Jones), who fall in love but are separated when Anna has to return to England and is later denied reentry into the United States after overstaying her student visa. Yelchin and Jones were given a very detailed outline of the film, with context, subtext, character breakdowns, and more, and they improvised most of the dialogue, which Doremus said (via IndieWire) came “by virtue of being fully involved in the character and the moment”.
2 This Is Spinal Tap
Improvisation was key to This Is Spinal Tap’s charm & success
This Is Spinal Tap is a mockumentary directed by Rob Reinier, and it focuses on the of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap through their American comeback tour, with interviews with each band member and more. Almost all the dialogue in This Is Spinal Tap was improvised, and the cast was given outlines of where the scene began and ended, along with character information in order to avoid contradictions. In addition to that, Reiner tried to use the first take of every scene as often as possible to capture natural reactions. This Is Spinal Tap is credited with launching the mockumentary genre.
1 The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project’s improvisation helped sell its found-footage concept
The Blair Witch Project is a found-footage horror movie directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It follows filmmaking students Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard who go into the forest in north Burkittsville to film a documentary about the local myth of the Blair Witch – however, once there, they begin to experience strange and terrifying events. Myrick and Sánchez developed an outline of the story and let the actors improvise the dialogues, only giving them individual instructions to help them improvise each scene.
Sources: AV Club, Vulture, Indie Wire, Screen Anarchy.
