ARE COMEDY MOVIES DEAD?

[Darth Knox]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_1YqcToBnI" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_1YqcToBnI</a>

[Kryptonian Jedi]

Difficult to say. I think sometimes comedy as a mode can be overdone. For example I appreciate that the Marvel movies aren't dour, desaturated and depressing affairs but at the same time I'm not sure what making Thor fat really gives to a story like Endgame. At their very best Marvel movies sometimes remind me a little of the OT Star Wars where humor was present and it could relieve the tension without taking you out of the adventure and drama of it. Kind of goes the other way to. If I'm watching a comedy I don't really want horror movie levels of gore going on.

Also let's face it, comedy is HARD. You might even get something that will make 40 people in a nightclub laugh but that doesn't mean it'll make a national or worldwide audience laugh. We may just be in a time where we're somewhat lacking in comedic geniuses who know how to charm audiences and good cinematic vehicles for that.

[Darth Knox]

KJ, I'm curious to know if you watched the video? They talk about it no longer being a genre in itself (in movie terms) but more a mode that movies can use, in part due studios desire to appeal to overseas audiences (where comedy is very unique to specific cultures), more and more writers going to tv and the fact that there are just so many other distractions to compete with parting people with their hard earned cash.

[Kryptonian Jedi]

KJ, I'm curious to know if you watched the video? They talk about it no longer being a genre in itself (in movie terms) but more a mode that movies can use, in part due studios desire to appeal to overseas audiences (where comedy is very unique to specific cultures), more and more writers going to tv and the fact that there are just so many other distractions to compete with parting people with their hard earned cash.

I did. That's why I mentioned mode in my response.

[Darth Knox]

I did. That's why I mentioned mode in my response.

Just wondered, as from parts of your response it almost seemed as if you hadn't (my bad).

I definitely agree when you say comedy is hard; I've always said that movies are subjective, and comedy is the most most subjective genre of all. Even when you take away cultural specific nature of what is "funny", it's still incredibly difficult to create something that will make large numbers of people laugh. For instance, my father cannot stand Airplane. He doesn't find it funny at all. In fact, he finds it more annoying than anything. However, I think it's a piece of comedy genius, a true classic.

I think the biggest problems for comedy movies are the fact that there are so many great shows on tv, plus there are so many different kinds of humour that appeal to a broad audience. In some ways, it's very similar to the horror genre. The goal of a comedy is to make people laugh, the goal of a horror movie is to make people scared. But there are just so many ways achieve that goal.


Horror movies has recently gone through a bit of a renaissance. We are now getting well made and well written atmospheric, tense and psychological horror movies that rely on tension in the scene rather than jump scares, blood and gore. Similar to horror movies, comedies do not need massive budgets or even lots of well known actors to appear in them to be good. If you look at a lot of the recent releases from Blumhouse Pictures, I think they've all had budgets under $50 million dollars but go on to make 5 or 6 times that at the box office, turning over a tidy little profit for the studio. The movies are interesting, engaging, creative and tense. Maybe more independent studios should adopt a similar model in their approach to comedies.

Some of the best comedies of all time have a very simple premise, so maybe studios are over-thinking the process? Hopefully, the comedy genre will experience a similar renaissance to the horror genre and we get a surge of well written, intelligent and funny movies being released.

Difficult to say. I think sometimes comedy as a mode can be overdone. For example I appreciate that the Marvel movies aren't dour, desaturated and depressing affairs but at the same time I'm not sure what making Thor fat really gives to a story like Endgame. At their very best Marvel movies sometimes remind me a little of the OT Star Wars where humor was present and it could relieve the tension without taking you out of the adventure and drama of it. Kind of goes the other way to. If I'm watching a comedy I don't really want horror movie levels of gore going on.

Marvel in particular use a technique called Bathos. I talked about this in my IT: Chapter 2 review. For those unaware what bathos is, it is a technique where a moment of massive tension or drama is lessened/undercut by a moment of humour. The MCU uses it a lot, some would say too much.

[Kryptonian Jedi]

Just wondering, as from parts of your response it almost seemed as if you hadn't (my bad).

It's alright. I might not have expressed my thoughts as clearly as I would have wished.

I definitely agree when you say comedy is hard; I've always said that movies are subjective, and comedy is the most most subjective genre of all. Even when you take away cultural specific nature of what is "funny", it's still incredibly difficult to create something that will make large numbers of people laugh. For instance, my father cannot stand Airplane. He doesn't find it funny at all. In fact, he finds it more annoying than anything. However, I think it's a piece of comedy genius, a true classic.

Ha! I love Airplane. Not every gag holds up and we're pretty far removed from the airport disaster movie trend that it was spoofing but I agree with you that it's a classic.

I think the biggest problems for comedy movies are the fact that there are so many great shows on tv, plus there are so many different kinds of humour that appeal to a broad audience. In some ways, it's very similar to the horror genre. The goal of a comedy is to make people laugh, the goal of a horror movie is to make people scared. But there are just so many ways achieve that goal.


Horror movies has recently gone through a bit of a renaissance. We are now getting well made and well written atmospheric, tense and psychological horror movies that rely on tension in the scene rather than jump scares, blood and gore. Similar to horror movies, comedies do not need massive budgets or even lots of well known actors to appear in them to be good. If you look at a lot of the recent releases from Blumhouse Pictures, I think they've all had budgets under $50 million dollars but go on to make 5 or 6 times that at the box office, turning over a tidy little profit for the studio. The movies are interesting, engaging, creative and tense. Maybe more independent studios should adopt a similar model in their approach to comedies.

Don't really enjoy horror movies myself but I agree that the approach you're talking about is something that could help comedies. A good premise, script, and talented cast are sometimes all you need. The beancounters get in their own way by wanting to make everything a big budget production.

Some of the best comedies of all time have a very simple premise, so maybe studios are over-thinking the process? Hopefully, the comedy genre will experience a similar renaissance to the horror genre and we get a surge of well written, intelligent and funny movies being released.

I think it may. The idea of comedy being dead as a genre in movies seems pre-mature IMO. We just haven't had anything in a while that hits the perfect storm of talent, idea, and timing.

[Darth Knox]

The idea of comedy being dead as a genre in movies seems pre-mature IMO. We just haven't had anything in a while that hits the perfect storm of talent, idea, and timing.

There will always be movies that will contain some comedy. That's a given. But for an out-and-out comedy, the genre is in a similar place to where horror was about 8 years ago; the horror genre seemed to have lost its identity, studios had lost faith in them as the movies that were released weren't really making any money and fans of the genre weren't excited about anything new on the horizon.

There have been a few comedies released this year (Book Smart, Good Boys, The Hustle) that I felt "meh" about. I watched Shazam more out of curiosity and something like The Long Shot I decided to wait until it hit streaming platforms. This is exactly how I felt about horror 8 years ago. However, when a horror movie is released nowadays 80% of the time I will go see it at the cinema, as the genre seems to have sorted itself out.

I think it will take 4 or 5 movies in row, made with low budget by independent studios for the comedy genre to re-establish itself.

[tx_tuff]

I will admit I didn't watch the whole video, I started it but just didn't want to invest 14 minutes to it.

I honestly think a big problem is P. C., although not sure that is even the right term. Looked over the last couple weeks at what happened to Dave Chappelle. Even his new stand up show was released on Netflix or was attacked by major media, other Hollywood people, certain groups, and even Rotten Tomatoes. I think they originally had 6 or 7 of their people rate it, they have it a zero. When they finally let the public vote it got a 100! Now a couple weeks later the website has 13 reviews and it's at 23% and 30,964 user ratings, at 99%.

For comedy to be good there needs to be no limits on it, and in the past that was the case. But that is no longer the case and it is destroying it.

By the way I had such high hopes for Good Boys, but it was just a bad movie

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[Darth Knox]

There's a difference between a movie comedy and stand-up comedy. I agree that stand-up comedy has, and should, be used as a way of shining a light on divisive topics or holding a mirror up to society. if you look back at some of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time and their best performances, some of what they say it dated, some is still hilarious and some induces winces because it's not something that could ever be said today. And that's a good thing. Times change, society evolves. Those old stand-up routines are a good way of seeing just how far we have come (and also highlights how far we still have to go). I haven't seen Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special, however, the fact it's so divisive and "controversial" is a good thing; it forces people to have conversations about why they agree or disagree with what he said. I've always viewed the best stand-up as ones that make me laugh, but also make me think (or even make me laugh, even when I know I shouldn't).

With regards to comedy movies though, the best ones, as I said before, are ones with a very simple premise and usually a scenario that is universal and the audience can relate to in some way. Obviously, with a global audience, finding universality is proving more and more difficult, hence a lot of comedies struggling at the worldwide box office.

First and foremost, the job of a comedy movie is make you laugh. Unlike stand-up comedy, it doesn't necessarily have to make you think though. it can do, but it's not a prerequisite (at least, not to my mind). Look at something like American Pie; four friends decide they will lose their virginity before the end of high school. Simple premise. Funny situations and hijinks ensue. Some cringey. Some exploitative. The cast was full of unknowns except for Alyson Hannigan and Eugene Levy. Made for $11 million and brought in $235 million worldwide.

Or look at The Hangover; a group of friend retrace their steps the morning after the night befores bachelor party in Las Vegas. Budget $35 million, made $467 million worldwide. It was the movie that made a star out of Bradley Cooper and Zack Galifanakis.

My point is, over the past 7 or 8 years, comedy movies just seem to be treading water. Good Boys and Book Smart are just versions of SuperBad, which in itself was a version of American Pie, which in itself was a version of Porky's. Which kind of goes back to something I've said previously about Hollywood; the major studios follow trends, they don't create them. If a handful of independent studios released some comedies that went on to be modest to good hits at the box office, the major studios would then start investing in making lots of good comedies.

Until that happens, all the good comedy writers will continue doing stuff just for television and we'll get a handful of "meh" comedies released on the big screen each year as filler until the next big budget comic book movie/Oscar bait drama is released.