Genre Research - Comedy

What’s so Hilarious About Comedy?

Comedy movies are films intended to be seen as humorous and cause laughter within the audience. These types of movies have multiple jokes throughout the piece. People mainly watch comedies because the laughter produced from it makes us smile and it lifts up our spirits. Comedies and be matched with many other genres, so the setting of one can vary greatly. For example, Guardians of the Galaxy is an action-packed comedy filled with intense fight scenes, so the production cost for this film was quite high- around $200 million. Meanwhile, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a comedy about a man going on vacation in Hawaii after his girlfriend broke up with him, has a much more relaxed and calmer plot. As such, the film only cost about $30 million. The typical target audience for comedies is widespread; some have jokes aimed at little kids and young teens, meaning it would have a rating of PG to PG-13. Other comedies contain adult humor and have explicit scenes within the film, giving it a rating of R.

 

Comedy Conventions – Content

    Comedy movies usually have exaggerating and over-the-top acting. This is done to emphasize the humor in the scene and get the audience to laugh. For example, in the film That's My Boy starring Adam Sandler. In the movie, Sandler plays the father of the main protagonist in the piece. His exaggerated voice where he basically screams every sentence, intense mannerisms, and overall persona as he is ecstatic to be with his son create a happy and humorous tone throughout the film. Comedic pieces of film also commonly have a basic plot, with the only purpose being to make the audience laugh. These films tend to have a message at the end of the movie that the viewer can resonate with easily. For example, Ted is about a man who wished for his teddy bear to be alive back when he was just a child, only for it to come true. The rest of the film stars Mark Wahlberg and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) experiencing all kinds of adventures and conflicts between themselves. The message that people can be friends but still meet new people is present throughout the entire film.

Comedy Conventions - Production Techniques

    These styles of film contain multiple different production techniques to create a more comedic environment. Some characters are designed with over-the-top costumes and make-up in order to give the subjects a funny appeal to make the overall ambience of the scene funnier. Comedic films love the use of long and close-up shots; long shots help reveal the curious location a character could be situated in or the weird shirt and pants they are wearing. Close-up shots of the exaggerated facial expressions of subjects create laughter within the audience, as the face made is one that people never actually do. Different sounds within comedies can be placed at times where it does not fit, thus making some sort of funny moment. Slapstick comedy, for example, use sounds to create humorous noises when physical violence ensues. Fast edits are also used to fit in many jokes in quick succession, while slower edits can be made to build up to one specific moment or punchline. An example of this would be in Nacho Libre, where the main character, portrayed by Jack Black, wears a funny costume throughout the film as he battles against other wrestlers to make money to feed some orphans. His red cape, underwear, and bare chest serving as his costume make it extremely difficult not laugh.

Institutional Conventions - How is Comedy Marketed

      To spread the word, comedies are advertised through radios, during commercial breaks on the television, and on the sidebar or right before a video is played on YouTube. Within the ads for these films, funny punchlines are usually sprinkled throughout the trailer to make the viewer want to see the movie. Awkward situations and funny conflicts are shown to get the audience intrigued and wonder what the context for the scene is. The ad tries to get at least one memorable quote from the film into the trailer to hopefully stand out from the rest of the other comedic films. Quotes from critics are also put throughout the film, exclaiming how enjoyable the film was. Some R-rated comedy films censor out curse words within the trailer to avoid being taken out from certain platforms for adult humor. An example of this would be the trailer for Superbad. The trailer is full of awkward, yet extremely hilarious situations that make the audience wonder what else they will miss if they do not watch the movie. One funny moment shown in the advertisements was when the two main male best friends are lying uncomfortably close to each other, looking into each other's eyes, and whispering "I love you."

Film Sample 1# - The Hangover (2009)

    This movie stars 4 friends who party so hard in Las Vegas the night before one of their weddings that the next day they wake up and have no recollection of any of the previous events. Not only that, but the soon-to-be husband is missing from their hotel room, so they spend the rest of the film looking for him in Las Vegas. Throughout their search, upbeat music plays in the background as if nothing is wrong when one of their best friend is missing, making the audience not able to stifle a laugh at how bad their situation is. Furthermore, when they awoke the next day, a baby had miraculously appeared in their room, so they have carry him around where ever they go. This creates funny and awkward situations, as one of the friends likes to put the baby in mildly inappropriate and humorous positions, an example being when the baby appeared to be holding a cigarette like an adult. The film continuously puts the 3 men in horrible situations, from being tazed by an elementary schooler to being attacked by a naked Asian man, all the while causing the audience to roar with laughter. As the film progresses, the friends look more and more disheveled and broken down, which is a stark contrast to when they were all dressed up in their tuxedoes at the bachelor party, making their adventure all the more enjoyable.

Film Sample #2 - Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

    Paul Blart is an ordinary security guard at his local shopping mall who takes his job very seriously, even though most of his colleagues do not. One day, a bunch of robbers manage to obtain hostages and it is up to Paul Blart to save the day, which he eventually does at the end. A running gag used throughout the film is Paul Blart consistently using his segway to get from place to place instead of simply walking, basically making fun of his weight. Not only that, but the way he rides his segway with such determination and confidence in his face makes the audience chuckle, as Paul believes he looks heroic while on his vehicle. At one point, he even uses it to charge at a robber while screaming at the top of his lungs, creating a perfect close-up shot of his mouth wide open, making a funny scene. The film also creates dramatic scenes that make the audience believe something is building up, only for them to tear it down with a funny punchline, seemingly poking fun at dramatic tropes. For example, towards the end of the film, Paul collapses in front of the leader of the robbers because he has not had sugar for a long period of time, as he is diabetic. However, when all hope seemed lost, he finds a lolipop with hairs on it lying on the floor. With every bit of strength he had left, he eats it and gets back on his feet, with dramatic music blaring in the background, making the audience laugh in disgust and enjoyment. Furthermore, many of his fights with the robbers is not meant to be taken seriously. Even though the security guard and robber are struggling to overpower the other, they are throwing things like bouncy balls and dolls at each other's direction, producing a laughable action sequence.

Other Film Samples

The War with Grandpa (2020)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

21 Jump Street (2012)

Zombieland (2009)

This Is the End (2013)