A Collection of Eight of our Favorite Movie Spaz-Outs

There’s nothing better than bearing witness to a complete and utter spaz-out.  I’m not talking about a pump-up speech, getting fired up for a fight, or even someone acting a little bit crazy, though.  By spaz-out, I mean somone just seeing red and losing their sh*t, resulting in a scene that if you were present, you’d be sure to run and tell your friends.  Pointing out and celebrating spaz-outs is generally frowned upon, however, and the term”insensitive” has been thrown at me on numerous occassions.  Luckily for me (and you), we can enjoy spaz-outs in the movies without dealing with real life repercussions.  After the jump, enjoy a collection of eight great movie spaz-outs (WARNING: some clips NSFW):

Jerry Maguire – Jerry Maguire

Jerry tells his firm that he’s not going to flip out, but that’s precisely what he does.  This scene isn’t as shocking as it used to be, and I think that’s because of a rare but memorable case of life imitating art.  Of course, you know to what I’m referring: the infamous Oprah appearance.

Howard Beale – Network

Howard Beale is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore.  This is perhaps the most memorable spaz-out in film history, as Beale – a fired network news anchor – claims that he will commit suicide during a live broadcast.  This awesome spaz-out helped Peter Finch win an Academy Award for Best Actor.

William Foster – Falling Down

Falling Down can be considered one gigantic spaz-out, I suppose, but the best spaz-out comes during the scene in the fast food restaurant.  I can sympathize with Foster during this scene; there’s many, many times where I’ve wanted to use a gun to deal with the people taking my order.

Dirk Diggler – Boogie Nights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96ucpoI73NQ

Coked out and on the decline, Dirk Diggler spazzes like a mofo and tells Jack that he’s ready to shoot.  There’s some very quotable and NSFW language in the above clip, so beware and enjoy. OK so we don’t have that clip but come on!  This is awesome anyway.

Arthur Edens – Michael Clayton

Tom Wilikinson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Arthur Edens, and he probably would have won if it wasn’t for Javier Bardem’s awesome performance in No Country For Old Men.  I couldn’t find the clip of Wilkinson spazzing out and undressing during a pivotal deposition, so for better or for worse (you be the judge), I posted a clip of the same scene, just reenacted by a dude from the Jimmy Kimmel show.  Hey, at least it’s entertaining.

James Andrews – PCU

There’s a clip in PCU where Andrews’ spaz-out comes completely out of nowhere and on a scale from 1-10 is a solid 14.  It’s a scene of a memory he has of then roommate David Spade.  “Total nightmare man.”  The best part of the clip comes when Piven clearly slips and falls while going insane from being drunk.  Unfortunately that clip has been taken down by Youtube in the past 24 hours but this one is damned good too.  And it’s kind of a spaz out.

Teddy Duchamp – Stand By Me

Young Corey Feldman played Teddy Duchamp in Stand By Me, the most unstable of the four main boys.  So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that if someone was going to spaz, it would be Teddy.  Seems that calling his father a loon is the simplist way to witness a bona fide spaz-out.  Teddy really loses his sh*t right around the three-minute mark.

Pee-wee Herman – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

The pressure of not being able to locate his bike has gotten the best of Pee-wee, so much so that he lashes out at his friends and temporarily loses his mind.  This is probably my favorite scene that doesn’t involve Francis.  Is there something you could share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?!?!!?