Every Marvel Cinematic Universe offering comes with its own unique tone and style, but comedy has always stood out as a critical element of each movie. These movies almost always come packed to the brim with gags, but few have ever reached the heights of humor in Peyton Reed's Ant-Man and The Wasp. Not only is it a hilarious movie in its own right, but it also offers up a perfect antidote for the overwhelming sadness of Avengers: Infinity War.
On that note, and with the movie now in theaters, we have put together a list of the funniest moments from Ant-Man and The Wasp. With so many awesome scenes to get to, let's get started with where we find Scott Lang at the beginning of the movie.
Warning: spoilers ahead for Ant-Man and The Wasp! Read ahead at your own risk!
Scott's Daily Routine Under House Arrest
Paul Rudd is the kind of movie star who oozes charisma, and Ant-Man and The Wasp capitalizes on that by just letting him cut loose in one of Scott Lang's first scenes. The guy has been on house arrest for the last two years, and it's clear that he has gotten pretty bored, so he's taken up more than a few strange habits. It makes for a fantastic montage, as we see Scott do everything in his power to try and pass the time -- ranging from playing the drums to crying while reading The Fault in Our Stars. It's honestly a perfect way to set up the movie, as well as to remind us that Scott Lang is not a macho tough guy like Thor or even Captain America; he's a sensitive dad who's not afraid to have some fun.
Woo Explaining Scott's Crimes
Global politics are hard to dumb down for a child to understand, and Agent Woo does an abysmal job of explaining Scott Lang's crimes during the events of Captain America: Civil War to Cassie, Scott's daughter. Initially starting off on the right foot with a metaphor about how it's bad to draw on the walls, the explanation falls apart when he starts talking about Scott going to Germany and drawing on the walls with Captain America, eventually devolving into complicated exposition regarding the legal ramifications of Scott's actions. Cassie Lang is very clearly a smart girl in the Ant-Man movies, but Woo did not read his audience well at all when he opened his mouth.
Janet Possessing Scott's Body
Ant-Man and The Wasp doesn't skimp when it comes to awesome, well-utilized science-fiction tropes, and one of the best examples is when Janet van Dyne possesses Scott Lang to provide Hank and Hope with the information that they need in order to get her out of the Quantum Realm. The scene is heavy on exposition, but it also gets some of the biggest laughs, especially once the audience remembers that Scott Lang is actually completely unaware of what is happening to him (which shines through perfectly when he comes to and notices that he's holding Hank's hand). The kicker? Paul Rudd actually does an amazing impersonation of Michelle Pfeiffer, and we wonder how much he practiced that.
Truth Serum
Ant-Man and The Wasp is packed with some great running gags, one of which comes in the form of the ever-present debate over whether or not truth serum actually exists. The chemical cocktail is first suggested by Luis, Kurt, and Dave when they're captured by Sonny Burch's gang, with the henchmen insisting that the syringe they use is not the cliché that constantly pops up in movies and TV shows. Nevertheless, the three wombats remain unconvinced throughout the run of the movie, and their persistence actually forces Burch and his men to eventually realize that they actually HAVE been using truth serum when they find themselves injected with the substance at the end.
Scott As A "Kid"
Prior to the release of Ant-Man and The Wasp, on-screen evidence told us that Scott Lang could either make himself incredibly large or incredibly small depending on the needs of the situation. However, things get a bit more complicated in this latest film when the Ant-Man suit keeps failing him. As a result, there are several moments in the movie (particularly when he infiltrates Cassie's school) that the Pym Particle technology winds up making very strange. Scott is left standing around three or four feet tall, and he has to hide in plain sight by pretending to be a child. The gag then continues after he gets out of the school, as the pint-sized Avenger is mocked mercilessly by Hank and Hope in the van.
Baba Yaga
The John Wick franchise isn't the only action film series that can make jokes about the Baba Yaga now, and Ant-Man and The Wasp really pulls it off. The scene in question comes when Sonny Burch and his henchman corner Luis, Kurt, and Dave to interrogate them about where Scott, Hope, and Hank have gone. The mystical beast of Slavic origin had been previously teased earlier in the movie, but then Ghost appears out of nowhere and confirms Kurt's belief that the Baba Yaga actually exists. Ghost's arrival in the scene comes out of nowhere, and the combination of jump scare with a solid joke gets a big laugh.
Close-Up Magic
Sure, Doctor Strange's Dr. Stephen Strange may be on the road toward becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, but he's not the only member of The Avengers roster who has the ability to use magic. More specifically, Scott Lang spent quite a bit of time learning the ins and outs of close-up magic during his time under house arrest, and the technique comes up multiple times in Ant-Man And The Wasp's story. The tactic eventually comes in handy when they want to beat Ghost, but the funniest moments come when simpler characters like Agent Woo and Paxton cannot figure out how Scott does his illusions. Even in a world where The Hulk and Thor exists, simple card tricks still seem to excite them.
Luis' Story
Remember when Michael Pena got to cut loose as Luis in the original Ant-Man and tell his rapid-fire stories? Well, Peyton Reed and the folks at Marvel clearly realized that those sequences worked with fans back in 2015, because we get yet another awesome tale narrated by Scott's ex-con best friend in the sequel. This time we learn the backstory of Scott and Luis' friendship during their time in prison (and see the awesome hairstyle that Luis was rocking at the time), as well as Luis' perceived version of the events that transpired during the original Ant-Man. We don't know if Ant-Man 3 is going to happen, but if it does, then we really want to see more of these stories.
Ant-Man And Cap
Have you ever met a celebrity or a public figure and then tried to play it up like you and that person are much closer than you really are? Well, Scott Lang has, and it turns out that he's a Captain America fanboy after the events of Captain America: Civil War. The thief-turned-superhero is forever changed by the act of working alongside The First Avenger, and that notion shines through in how he constantly name drops Captain America (or Cap) throughout his mission with Hope and Hank. The kicker? Hope is not particularly interested in what Scott has to say about the star-spangled hero, and she doesn't even seem impressed by his newfound status as an almost Avenger.
The Seagull Gag
It is a major testament to the Ant-Man franchise that it manages to make us feel so many complex emotions for the ants -- who never actually get to speak or express themselves in any meaningful way. Scott's own affinity largely helps in this department, and you can see it in the anger he feels when seagulls keep eating them when he tries to catch a ride at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco during the climactic chase of Ant-Man and The Wasp. Those pesky flying creatures are what keep him from going after Sonny Burch, and it isn't until Ant-onio Banderas swoops down to pick him up that he's able to continue his pursuit. Alas, Ant-onio ends up perishing as well, forcing Scott to become Giant Man one more time.
The Dinner Plans
Last but not least, we finish up our list with one of the best gags between Scott Lang and Agent Woo - specifically at the end when the FBI breaks into Scott's house in an attempt to catch him as he returns from his mission with Hank and Hope. Scott is able to evade capture with the help of his daughter, and Woo tries to act tough by stating that he will be seeing Scott around. Woo means to play the moment off like a cliché macho cop, but Scott highlights the ridiculousness of it by implying that Woo is asking him to dinner -- which Woo eventually does when it becomes clear that he actually kind of likes Scott.
