So...
I have been doing a lot of research on big studio comedies as of late.
A subject I was very interested and excited to delve into because I don't know a lot about it.
In the past, I tended not to focus on super accessible films because I assumed they were films that were sorta one size fits all and basically the same.
I strove more to catch up with obscure and artsy films because I thought they might be crazy different and blow my mind.
Well, ironically, I have learned a ton from watching the big studio comedies and they have turned out to be pretty fascinating.
Firstly, I was surprised by how small the community making comedy films really is. Like any movie genre, it is a very exclusive and privileged crowd that gets in on the studio's comedy money. There are fringe films, but in the last 10 years all the major studio comedies have be produced by
1. Apatow Productions
2. Red Hour Films (Ben Stiller)
3. Happy Madison (Adam Sandler)
4. and a few SNL films (Lorne Michaels)
Not only that but within those production companies there are a very limited number of reoccurring directors and actors that they tend to work with over and over.
Secondly, I discovered there are only about 3-4 types of films within the comedy genre.. and that these types are also the main devices filmmakers use to create humor within those films. I get the sense if your chosen device is honed, the audience will forgive you being weaker on the others.
Hopefully this is accurate.
There are the:
Fantastical and Ridiculous Character Movie:
The fantastical and ridiculous character movie is a movie in which the main character is so outrageous that you are dying to know what he will do next.
Over and over I was completely content with the story being a little hole-filled because the characters were so fun and crazy. The characters also tend to be individuals that would probably never get by in real life... who hopefully don't really exist.
Its kind of a fun fantasy to say.... what if?
Anchorman
Zoolander
Elf
Social Comedy:
The social comedy tends to have a bunch of sketches tied together through the plot in which socially awkward or hilarious situations arise. Fish out of water scenarios.... awkward relatives... embarrassing social stakes... The scenarios are part of why you keep watching and make you laugh.
They generally aren't as fantastical. You could believe that these situations could happen in real life. Its more funny because you can relate...
Step Brothers
40 Year Old Virgin
Meet the Parents
Knocked Up
Outsourced
Plot Driven:
The characters might be interesting, but the main driving element is plot line. These films have a strong point to point journey that the characters must go through to save the day or even survive the day!
They are compelling mostly because the plot is strong and the characters are forced to take action by circumstances and situations the plot is inflicting on them...
The Hangover
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle
Pineapple Express
Ridiculous/Gimmicky Premise:
I think these comedies get by because of the sheer fact you want to see how their ridiculous premises play out.
Instead of a fantastical and ridiculous characters you have a scenario.
Like: men's pair skating... and professional dodgeball. The audience wants to know: how will that play out? what would that look like? fantasy land.
Blades of Glory
Dodgeball
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
hm.. so what makes a winning comedy?
Its a product... yes. So it needs to sell. but also, what makes a comedy that is truly good for goodness sake?
I'd have to say, that of the comedies I have seen thus far my favs are:
Elf
Pineapple Express
The Hangover
Anchorman
Bridesmaids
Elf is fantastic because the character Will Ferrell plays is HILARIOUS. He is the naivety and wonder that we all lost a long time ago.
Everyone wants to be a part of that! Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads and kids. It doesn't resort to potty humor and disgusting scenarios to get you to laugh.
Pineapple Express has pretty strong plot line pulling you though it. I think that it would be a straight up plot driven film... except James Franco is such a fantastic character!! The plot's stakes are not high just because of the guns and the marijuana and the crimes, but because this stuff is all happening to characters we now really care about.
The Hangover. Todd Phillips. Let me tell you. Todd Phillips is a hit or miss. Old School.. ugh. Due Date... ????what!? but The Hangover is undeniably funny. The morning after has such unexpected twists and turns! the premise is perfect. execution and scenarios pretty spot on and, I think, more unexpected than films like it. Phillips is strong in the plot drive films.
Something this drew my attention to is that filmmakers can use two strong devices to get you to keep watching:
They can 1. dangle a glimpse of things to come .. that make you continue to watch to see how they play out.
In "Bedazzled" the devil gives Hugh Grant 7 wishes. But since its the devil granting the wishes, of course, they each go terribly wrong. You kinda know what is coming but you have to watch to see how it goes down. It sets you up with a premise you must see fulfilled.
Or 2. they tease you with a world in which you have no idea what is going to happen next.
Like in The Hangover, they consistently and completely surprise you. You are blindsided again and again. The reason you keep watching is because you have no idea what will happen next and the premise makes a world in which that is totally possible.
Anchorman... Director Adam McKay is killer at one liners. The rest of the movie is decent too, but what he excels at is the quotable lines and brief punchy jokes. I watched Anchorman mostly to hear what chauvinistic words would come out of the anchor's mouths next. Classic.
Okay. Bridesmaids. This is in here because I think this is Apatow at the top of his game. Paul Feig is also a very talented director and his films do really stick out noticeably. In my one and only film theory class at Southern, we watched a little film called "I Am David"... and that film definitely struck me as being very competently made.
I wondered why I had never heard of it before... and who this director could be ... why he got overlooked.
What I didn't know at the time, is that the director, Paul Feig, had not been overlooked. He had already been the critically acclaimed director of "Freaks and Geeks" and now has worked again with Apatow on Bridesmaids.
Bridesmaids was hilarious because it was cast very well. The characters were strongly highlighted by the casting decisions. Kristen Wiig's slap-stick style comedy was hilarious... there were good one liners, the characters had a moderate ridiculous-ness and the scenarios were funny because they were relate-able.
But what was strong in this film was the theme. A lot of comedies try to smash in a morals-of-the-story or a touching point that the main character learns. After creating a bunch of loosely connected situations that have nothing to do with the theme... they shove them all into a box that looks like an overarching idea .. something that the audience can take away.
This film was constructed from the beginning to say something. It was a journey that forced the characters to change. Kinda nice to have that be so clear and strong. Apatow is good at this and he has done it in Knocked Up and the 40 Year Old Virigin as well, but I think that this film showed a lot more honing and practice in that. I think his films are so successful because he does hold on to that idealistic point of view that everyone, in their deepest of hearts want to believe in. People think that they want sex humor or raunchy humor... which, granted, this film has.. but he knows that what they really want and what will really hook them is that spark of idealism.
So, to me, a super comedy would:
1. Have hilarious one liners. (clever screenwriter)
2. Ridiculous and unpredictable characters either fantastical-ly or socially based. Endearing and relate-able characters that make the stakes real and important to you. (in most cases, casting)
3. A strong theme that is woven throughout. Show! don't tell.
4. Plot line that forces a unified and calculated hell upon the character, building the stakes as it goes.
5. An innate idealism or naivety that EVERYONE can relate to and wants to believe in.
6. Give the audience common things uncommonly portrayed or consistently surprise them, but always give them something to look forward to.
And would never:
Mimick
be what is the trendy "funny"
I'm starting to think that these are not just good ideas for comedies but good rules for movies in general!
Now that is all fine and good... but what is the practical application of this? How do the most successful films uniquely achieve each of those? It can't be just theory. I know that intuitively I have enjoyed one film over another... but what, in a definable and specific sense, created that experience?
That will be my part two of research. Break down the scripts, the characters, the plot lines and the cinematic aspects of these films. How and why were each successful? What tools does that give you for identifying archetypes of success in the comedy world? We shall see!!! exciting!
