The 15 best pratfalls, from Only Fools and Horses to Friends

While the definition of “pratfalls” may read “an embarrassing failure or mistake”, the innate reflex upon witnessing a person fall on their arse is to laugh until you cry.

Audiences have been enjoying this visual treat in film and television shows for decades now, spearheaded by the slapstick legends of old (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy). And while it may be easy to assume a pratfall is an easy laugh-grabbing win, the opposite is true.

Directing and/or acting out a fall can essentially strip the act of what makes it funny in the first place: the look of shock on an unsuspecting victim’s face. That’s why on-screen pratfalls, when done well, are unbeatable.

It was honed to perfection 30 years ago this year, when those watching the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses witnessed what will endure as one of entertainment’s finest moments: Del Boy falling through a pub’s bar.

In celebration of the iconic sketch, and as a brand new musical based on the beloved sitcom makes its way to the theatre, we pay homage to the best pratfalls ever captured on camera – ranging from screwball comedies to a Stanley Kubrick-directed masterpieces.

Only Fools and Horses

The daddy of all the pratfalls: Del Boy (David Jason) falling through the bar in the classic episode “Yuppy Love”. The whole thing’s made even funnier by the full 360 of Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack), unsure where the man who was stood next to him seconds before has vanished to.

The Awful Truth

Film critic Pauline Kael famously branded former acrobat Cary Grant “the most pursued man in America” following his role in The Awful Truth – and all it took was one brilliantly-executed fall from a chair. Timeless.

The Lady Eve

Director Preston Sturges, a big fan of the pratfalls, filled his screwball comedies with many slapstick moments. None come more unexpected than Henry Fonda’s sofa-tumble in The Lady Eve: one that’s as surprising as it is funny.

Tickle Me

After being caught glancing at a group of girls in an aerobics class, Elvis Presley’s embarrassed protagonist turns and walks directly into a table and umbrella. The seemingly endless pratfall is arguably one of the singer’s finest moments in film.

Dr Strangelove

The highlight of this moment – which sees “Buck” Turgidson (George C Scott) trip, fall and resume his speech like nothing had happened – is that it really was accidental. Kubrick, who directed the comedy, kept it in, thinking it was improvised.

Home Alone

Home Alone culminates in an extended sequence of slapstick gold. Our pick is either Harry (Joe Pesci) slipping down the icy steps or his accomplice Marv (Daniel Stern) falling to the ground after stepping on pins laid out by Kevin (Macauley Culkin) as a trap. As hilarious as it ever was.

Friends

Nobody pulled off a fall in Friends quite like Matthew Perry. With numerous to choose from, it was Chandler’s season three run in with a door that proved his pratfalling highlight.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The fall itself might not rank high in comedic stakes, but what follows makes it memorable. Larry David – sat front row at an NBA game with his legs outstretched – trips up star basketball player Shaq O’Neill, leading to veers from the crowd around him. “It was an accident!” he bellows, vacating the court.

The Office (US)

It wasn’t until The Office US’s ninth and final season that the beloved sitcom’s greatest pratfall arrived. After deploying some drunken dance moves at the Christmas party, warehouse worker Daryl (Craig Robinson) crashes into the catering table. It’s the second, smaller crash that truly makes this moment.

Arrested Development

Less a pratfall than a full-blown stunt, Tobias Funke (David Cross) plunges from a balcony while dressed as Mrs Doubtfire-style maid, Mrs Featherbottom. How his on-screen daughter, played by Alia Shawkat, keeps a straight face is a mystery.

The Inbetweeners

The moment serial bulls***ter Jay (James Buckley) begins bragging about his motorcycling skills, there’s no doubt where the scene is heading. Who'd have thought that Jay plus motorbike equals disaster and lots of laughter?

Here Comes the Boom

Say what you like about Kevin James but there’s no denying he’s a master of the pratfall. Here Comes the Boom may not be a great film (in fact, it’s pretty terrible), but it does feature this doozy (fast forward to 02.30-02.34).

The Wolf of Wall Street

Leonardo DiCaprio mastered the art of slapstick in the most unlikely of films – Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Incapacitated after taking a bunch of lemon quaaludes, disaster strikes and his character, Jordan Belfort, needs to get home sharpish. Between him and his car lies a set of steps. You can guess what happens next.

Spy

A simple gag, and one that was unsurprisingly flogged in the film’s trailers: Melissa McCarthy tries (and fails) to drive a scooter.

Brookyln Nine-Nine

Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) has become one of the decade’s most beloved sitcom characters, and for good reason. This season one ladder pratfall – lovingly deemed the “slam dunk fail” by fans – is just one of the many reasons why.