2. • SINCE THE EARLY DAYS OF CINEMA, COMEDY HAS BEEN ONE OF ITS MOST POPULAR AND SUCCESSFUL
GENRES.
3. • A GOOD COMEDY HAS LOTS OF SCENES WITH FUNNY CHARACTERS OR FUNNY SITUATIONS THAT MAKE US
LAUGH.
4. • CHARACTERS CAN BE FUNNY IF THEY'RE CLEVER AND SAY OR DO WITTY THINGS, OR IF THEY'RE
SOCIALLY INEPT AND SAY OR DO EMBARRASSING THINGS, OR IF THEY'RE NOT VERY CLEVER AND THEY SAY
AND DO STUPID THINGS.
5. • IN EARLY SILENT MOVIES A FORM OF VISUAL COMEDY CALLED SLAPSTICK WAS OFTEN USED.
• COMICAL SLAPSTICK ACTIONS LIKE SLAPPING, SLIPPING AND FALLING OVER HAD BEEN USED IN LIVE
THEATRE FOR CENTURIES BEFORE THEY WERE USED IN SILENT FILMS LIKE HAROLD LLOYD'S SAFETY LAST,
CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S THE KID AND BUSTER KEATON'S STUNT-FILLED COMIC ADVENTURE THE GENERAL.
6. • FRENCH FILM-MAKER JACQUES TATI CREATED COMPLEX SIGHT GAGS THAT WERE AS PERFECTLY TIMED AS
A BALLET DANCE AND M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MON ONCLE AND PLAYTIME ARE NOW REGARDED AS SOME OF
THE BEST COMEDIES EVER MADE.
8. • AFTER IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO USE SOUND IN FILMS IN THE EARLY 1930S, AMERICAN SCREWBALL
COMEDIES BECAME VERY POPULAR.
• IN SCREWBALL COMEDIES THIS "BATTLE OF THE SEXES" WAS PART OF A FARCE FULL OF GAGS AND
WITTY BANTER. A FARCE IS A COMEDY ABOUT A RIDICULOUS OR IMPROBABLE SITUATION, AND
SLAPSTICK FARCES LIKE THE MARX BROTHERS' DUCK SOUP AND A NIGHT AT THE OPERAAND W.C.
FIELDS' THE BANK DICK WERE AS POPULAR AS SCREWBALL FARCES IN THE 30S AND 40S.
9. • A FARCE IN WHICH WE SEE CAREFULLY PLANNED ROBBERIES AND MURDERS GO TERRIBLY WRONG IS
CALLED A CAPER.
• BRITISH CAPERS OF THE 40S AND 50S LIKE KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS AND THE LADYKILLERS SET THE
PATTERN FOR LATER CAPERS LIKE DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, A FISH CALLED WANDA, THE BIG
LEBOWSKI AND SNATCH.
10. • FILMS THAT FIND HUMOUR IN THESE AND OTHER SERIOUS TOPICS LIKE WAR, ILLNESS AND DEATH ARE
OFTEN CALLED BLACK COMEDIES.
11. • AMERICAN BEAUTY IS ABOUT A MIDDLE-AGED FAMILY MAN WHO DREAMS OF SLEEPING WITH HIS
NEIGHBOUR'S TEENAGE DAUGHTER, AND MANY PEOPLE SEE IT AS A DARK SATIRE THAT POKES FUN AT THE
"AMERICAN DREAM", OR THE IDEA OF LIVING A PERFECT LIFE WITH A PERFECT FAMILY IN A PERFECT
AMERICAN HOME.
12. • ANOTHER FILM THAT SATIRIZES THE AMERICAN DREAM IS THE TRUMAN SHOW STARRING JIM CARREY,
BUT NOT ALL SATIRES TARGET THIS TOPIC
13. • HERE ARE ALSO FILMS THAT POKE FUN AT PARTICULAR MOVIE GENRES BY COPYING THEIR STYLE AND
ADDING HUMOUR TO THE MIX. THESE MOVIES ARE CALLED PARODIES OR "SPOOFS" AND SOME OF THE
FUNNIEST INCLUDE AIRPLANE!, A DISASTER MOVIE SPOOF STARRING LESLIE NIELSON, AND BLAZING
SADDLES, MEL BROOKS' FARCICAL PARODY OF THE COWBOY-FILLED WESTERN.
15. • MOVIES THAT FEATURE VERY STRANGE OR VERY CRAZY HUMOUR ARE OFTEN CALLED ABSURD COMEDIES.
IN THE 1960S A TEAM OF BRITISH COMEDY WRITERS AND PERFORMERS USED ABSURD HUMOUR IN
THEIR TV SERIES MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS
16. • WHILE MOST OF THE CHARACTERS IN CHARLIE KAUFMAN'S MOVIES ARE VERY SMART, A STYLE OF
COMEDY THAT FEATURES VERY STUPID CHARACTERS IS CALLED GOOFBALL COMEDY. WHEN WATCHING A
GOOFBALL COMEDY, WE CAN'T HELP LAUGHING AT THE STUPID THINGS THE CHARACTERS SAY AND DO
AND CRINGING AT ALL THEIR SOCIAL FAUX PAS. MANY MOVIEGOERS LOVE GOOFBALL COMEDIES LIKETHE
JERK STARRING STEVE MARTIN AND DUMB AND DUMBER STARRING JIM CARREY AND JEFF DANIELS.
17. • IN THE 1960S UNDERGROUND FILM-MAKER JOHN WATERS USED OFFENSIVE OR BAD-TASTE HUMOUR IN
DARK SATIRES OF AMERICAN LIFE SUCH ASPINK FLAMINGOS AND FEMALE TROUBLE IN WHICH
CHARACTERS LIKE DIVINE, A VERY LOUD, VERY LARGE WOMAN PLAYED BYA TRANSVESTITE ACTOR, DID
THINGS THAT WERE SO DISGUSTING THAT AUDIENCE MEMBERS EITHER CRINGED AND LAUGHED OR
CRINGED AND LEFT. IN THE 1980S MAINSTREAM STUDIO MOVIES CALLEDGROSS-OUT COMEDIES WITH
THE SAME SORT OF DISGUSTING SCENES, BUT WITHOUT THE SATIRE, BECAME QUITE POPULAR. TWO OF
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WERE 1978'S ANIMAL HOUSE AND 1999'S AMERICAN PIE.
18. • MOVIES THAT TELL FUNNY STORIES ABOUT TEENAGERS AND THEIR LIVES ARE CALLED TEEN COMEDIES,
AND THOSE THAT SHOW THE HUMOUR OF TEEN LIFE WITHOUT MAKING FUN OF TEENAGERS INCLUDE THE
1988 MOVIE HAIRSPRAY DIRECTED BY JOHN WATERS, THE 1998 HIGH-SCHOOL
COMEDY RUSHMORE DIRECTED BY WES ANDERSON, AND A VERY ORIGINAL 2011 JAPANESE TEEN COMEDY
DIRECTED BY SION SONO CALLED LOVE EXPOSURE. MANY OF THESE MOVIES ARE ABOUT TEENAGE LOVE
AND ROMANCE, BUT MOVIES ABOUT THE SAME TOPICS IN RELATION TO ADULTS BELONG TO A DIFFERENT
GENRE CALLEDROMANTIC COMEDY OR "ROM COM".
19. • SOME OF THE FUNNIEST COMEDIES EVER MADE HAVE BEEN SPOOFS OF DOCUMENTARIES OR SATIRES
THAT LOOK LIKE SERIOUS DOCUMENTARIES. THESE FILMS ARE CALLED MOCKUMENTARIES AND THEY
OFTEN INCLUDE INTERVIEWS WITH WHAT SEEM TO BE, OR SOMETIMES ARE, REAL PEOPLE IN THE REAL
WORLD.
• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=YEIFMJQPSG0
