Entertainment
The Best 'Broad City' Pop Culture Parodies From Drake To 'The Matrix'
Spoilers ahead for Broad City Season 5, Episode 3. In the Feb. 7 episode, Broad City parodies The Matrix when Ilana gets a brand new outfit befitting her sudden bitcoin wealth. Clad in head-to-toe black leather, she stomps the New York streets, simultaneously channeling Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity and Keanu Reeves' Neo. It's a classic Broad City tribute: Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have honored movies, TV shows, and music throughout the show's five-year run, so it's only fitting that Ilana goes big for in this final season episode.
Much of "Bitcoin & The Missing Girl" is about old character callbacks. Ilana's mom (Susie Essman), Nicole (Nicole Drespel), Trey (Paul W. Downs), and Gemma (D'Arcy Carden) all pop up in the episode for perhaps the last time in the history of Broad City. Plus, Mark Consuelos makes his debut as Ilana's ex-lover — a cheeky nod to the time his real-life wife Kelly Ripa guest-starred as a dysfunctional version of herself in Season 2. But the episode also does something the series loves to do: spoof pop culture. Abbi and Ilana have always sprinkled the series with entertainment references, so in honor of Ilana's Matrix moment, here's a look back at some of their best parodies.
1'Shutter Island'
While Abbi does ride a ferry like Melanie Griffith in Working Girl in "Working Girls," her time on North Brother Island is more like a nightmare scene from Shutter Island.
2'American Beauty'
During "Hurricane Wanda," Ilana distracts the gang from the fact that Abbi is pooping by using plastic bags for an American Beauty-esque scene.
3"Started From The Bottom"
In "Apartment Hunters," Abbi and Ilana are so proud of Abbi's newfound wealth that they strut into the bank to Drake's "Started from the Bottom." Ilana does her best Nicki Minaj, and Abbi her best Missy Elliott.
4'The Amazing Race'
Kumail Nanjiani needs a partner for The Amazing Race in "In Heat," but the women are not interested.
5"The Edge Of Glory"
While Lady Gaga is clothed and outside of an apartment in "The Edge of Glory" music video, Abbi does her own naked interpretation indoors during "Mochalatta Chills."
6"Get Happy"
In "Hashtag FOMO," Abbi's blackout drunk alter-ego Val does her best Judy Garland impression to the song "Get Happy" from the film Summer Stock, matching costume and all.
7'Cast Away'
The homage to The Matrix doesn't happen during "The Matrix" episode, but Abbi does have her own Cast Away/Wilson experience when she abandons "Fig" in the hole she fell into at Central Park. (There are some 127 Hours vibes going on too.)
8'Titanic'
Lincoln and Jaime do their best Jack and Rose/Fabrizio and Jack impressions in "Citizen Ship."
9'Pretty Woman'
Another iconic line from cinema that Broad City took on in Season 2 was Julia Roberts' "Big mistake, big, huge!" from Pretty Woman in "Kirk Steele."
10"Black Or White"
It seems like in "Co-Op" that Ilana is doing her own recreation of the banned part of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video where he jumped on a car, damaged it, yelled, and grabbed his crotch a bunch.
11'Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit'
When Ilana finally gets fired from Deals, Deals, Deals by Vanessa Williams (embracing her Ugly Betty persona), Ilana's coworker Nicole celebrates with a dream performance of "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act 2 — complete with a Whoopi Goldberg cameo.
12'Mrs. Doubtfire'
Perhaps the greatest and most elaborate pop culture parody in all of Broad City was the homage to the Mrs. Doubtfire restaurant scene in "Burning Bridges." Again, the show managed to land an excellent cameo with Mara Wilson.
13'Sliding Doors'
Broad City gave viewers a glimpse of what could have been à la Gwyneth Paltrow's Sliding Doors before Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt did it.
14"Man! I Feel Like A Woman"
When you get Shania Twain to agree to make an appearance to fulfill a series joke, you make the most of it with all of the song references you can squeeze in.
15"Formation"
After Ilana inherits her grandmother's car in "Florida", she and Abbi have a Beyoncé moment from the "Formation" music video.
16'The Breakfast Club'
Mike Birbiglia guest stars in "House-Sitting" and teaches Abbi a disgusting life lesson about teachers before swaggering away like Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club.
17'The Matrix'
On the way to get her bit-coin, Ilana goes full Matrix with slow-mo moves and full-body leather.
With seven more episodes to go, Broad City has time for plenty more pop culture references, but these will remain a loving part of the show's legacy.
