Talk:Comedy film/Archive 1

Needs a lot of work
Wow. This needs a lot of work. It doesn't say much, and it's on the first page of google results for "comedy film." Unfortunately, comedy is one of the areas of film where I'm weak. Maybe we could start with a historical overview of comedians in the silents, going through to early talkies and different movements (physical comedy, intellectual comedy, etc. and their overlaps). On through to maybe absurdist & postmodern comedy? Just some thoughts. Koyaanis Qatsi 08:38 18 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Apart from all that, the list of "notable comedies" is dismal. Some of these titles are unwatchable. MisfitToys 09:06, Apr 12, 2004 (UTC)

I've provided a skeleton which might help people to get started, make them feel less intimidated. I will certainly start on the British section tomorrow ... note to self - don't forget Will Hay! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bodnotbod (talk • contribs) 21:05, May 2, 2004

List of comedy films
List of comedy films would be a better title for this "article". --Mrwojo 23:38, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It would be nice to have a decent Comedy film article, but at the moment this isn't it. I agree - this should be moved to List of comedy films. violet/riga (t) 23:58, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Expansion

 * Comedy film: User Koyaanis Qatsi makes this great suggestion..."Maybe we could start with a historical overview of comedians in the silents, going through to early talkies and different movements (physical comedy, intellectual comedy, etc. and their overlaps). On through to maybe absurdist & postmodern comedy." Wish someone could or would. Kingturtle 07:56, 5 Jan 2004 (UTC)
 * This has been greatly expanded as a list since Jan 2004, but there is no overview prose. Others above suggest moving this to List of comedy films and presumably starting from scratch. -- Beland 04:01, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * This is still too sketchy as an article and needs more expansion. There's not much mroe discussion here than there is on the Comedy Films category page. And I really want to get rid of that table! I don't really see the point of it, it's very US-centric, and a list of Chaplin or Keaton films could go on forever. And why are the Farrelly brothers singled out? Why not the Carry On films or any others? And what does artist mean, director, writer, comedian...? JW 11:04, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I got rid of that damned table and replaced it with a table of possible catagories for the history of comedy films, along with influential directors/stars/films/movements therein. Thought it'd be good if we had some groundwork to start from. Volatile 21:30, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

Removed lists
Now that prose appears in this article I think just including a random collection of lists disorganizes the article. Here is what I took out:


 * Screwball Comedy
 * Howard Hawks
 * George Cukor
 * Preston Sturges
 * Cary Grant
 * Katharine Hepburn
 * The Thin Man series
 * Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Dorothy Lamour
 * milder screwball comedy: Frank Capra


 * 60s and 70s Comedy
 * Family comedy (Spencer's Mountain/Yours, Mine and Ours/James Stewart comedies, etc.)
 * Dark Comedy (Dr. Strangelove, M*A*S*H, etc.)
 * Subtle comedy (The Apartment, The Graduate, etc.)
 * Sophisticated comedy (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
 * Woody Allen
 * Neil Simon
 * Dudley Moore


 * Parody/Spoof/Satire
 * Mel Brooks
 * Jim Abrahams
 * National Lampoon series
 * Pink Panther series
 * Monty Python series
 * Austin Powers series


 * Romantic Comedy
 * Nora Ephron
 * Raising Arizona
 * When Harry Met Sally...
 * Say Anything
 * Groundhog Day
 * As Good as It Gets
 * My Big Fat Greek Wedding
 * Meg Ryan
 * Julia Roberts
 * Jennifer Lopez

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Gettingtoit (talk • contribs) 00:15, August 15, 2005

Content from the comedy films category
An anon user posted the below in the Comedy films category. I have not idea where he got it from, but I'm posting here. If anyone wants to try to integrate it, feel free. One user commented that it is absolute drivel, however. &mdash; Frecklefoot | Talk 18:25, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Comedy films are "make 'em laugh" films designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse, entertain, and provoke enjoyment. The comedy genre humorously exaggerates the situation, the language, action, and characters. Comedies observe the deficiencies, foibles, and frustrations of life, providing merriment and a momentary escape from day-to-day life. They usually have happy endings, although the humor may have a serious or pessimistic side.

Slapstick films are a type of comedy film that employ slapstick comedy with six main conventions: Pain with no real consequence, editing to turn a situation more unrealistic, impossible stiuations, zooms to confuse the audience, off screen use, using sounds for impossible stunts and tension for audience anticiapation.

Gross-out film is an informal name used to describe a genre of scatological comedy movies in which the producers aim to "gross out" their audience with disgusting and disturbing material. Gross-out films often feature jokes about feces, farting, snot, vomit and other bodily functions. Some famous gross-out films include American Pie, Austin Powers, Freddy Got Fingered, and several John Waters films.

A parody or spoof film is a comedy that satirizes other film genres or classic films. Examples include such films as Not Another Teen Movie, Scary Movie, This Is Spinal Tap, and Spaceballs. The five main conventions for this genre are:
 * Sarcasm
 * Stereotyping, e.g., the dumb blonde, the hardboiled detective
 * Mocking other films or scenes from serious movies
 * Violence with no consequence for characters' actions
 * Obvious meanings to characters' actions

"Screwball comedies, such as produced by Frank Capra, exhibited a pleasing, idealised climate that portrayed reassuring social values and a certain optimism about everyday life. Movies still included slapstick humor and other physical comedy, but these were now frequently supplemental to the verbal interaction." I'm not sure that I recognise this as a description of screwball comedies. JW 12:41, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

An entire subgenre for Judd Apatow?
The Judd Apatow style? Seriously? Is it me, or does he just blend the gross-out genre with the romantic comedy genre? After reading the section (and watching a couple of his movies), this is my conclusion. I didn't realize that, to anyone other than the author of this section, there is an entire subgenre of comedy films called "Judd Apatow style" films. I nominate this section for deletion. It's also full of the word "usually", furthering the haze surrounding the description of this non-genre. The whole section is uncited, and seems to just be the product of an Apatow fan. I put this up for discussion rather than just deleting it myself so there can be some sort of consensus. Thoughts? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.65.193.103 (talk • contribs) 21:42, January 18, 2008