Luis Diaz Vasquez—Media Studies : Comedy Database

With how stressful the current world has gotten, it’s important to take a moment to laugh on occasion and the comedy genre is perfect for this.

By definition, comedy is a program with the intended purpose of making the audience laugh, yet comedy itself is subjective. One joke that could be hilarious to one party could be greatly offensive to another, and it is for this reason why comedy movies could be risky to produce. Their price can vary, as most movies don’t need to be expensive unless special effects are used as the main focus of the movie is comedy, not visuals.

Content:

Comedy movies can employ a number of techniques to make the audience laugh. One of the most prominent methods is physical humor. This boils down to having a character get hurt in comedic circumstances.

Example: In the movie Ted, the main character gets into a serious fight with his teddy bear which is alive. Although a protagonist getting hurt would normally raise tension, the absurdity of this scene is what gives it comedy.

Another element that every comedy movie contains is jokes. Although some jokes can be surface level, the average pun is not likely to evoke laughs from the audience, so cleverness must be combined into the delivery with these jokes. One liner jokes that can easily be inserted into the story work best, as they don’t harm the actual story and keep the audience entertained. Irony can also be used to create randomness and comedy, as it is frequently used in most jokes

Example: In this scene from Young Frankenstein, the doctor character exclaims “What knockers!” towards the large door knockers in front of him while being held up to a woman’s chest. The female character thanks the main character, creating irony and comedy as the doctor’s comment was clearly not directed towards her.

In terms of actual story elements, comedy movies typically have drama as a sub genre, and are light hearted. There are stakes to pressure the characters to keep on going, yet the movie itself doesn’t take itself that seriously as the focus is on comedy, not the actual plot. The character’s should exaggerate whenever a situation arises to further accentuate the comedy of the scene, and most actions should be amplified to make the most room for comedy opportunities.

Production Techniques

Comedy movies are almost always fast paced unless they’re attempting to have an emotional moment, as it’s important to get on to the next “funny” part of the movie. The last thing comedy producers want is for the audience’s attention span to run dry, so they make sure to use snappy editing and quick transitions to maintain pacing. The actual camera or microphone can be used as a joke too, as directors will use every tool at their disposal to maintain a sense of comedy throughout the entire film.

Example: The Kentucky Fried Movie (an incredibly vulgar production, this is solely for demonstrative purposes) has a scene where a character directly reaches for a microphone on set, creating a sense of randomness and comedy.

Marketing

Comedy movies can have different audiences, but they are primarily directed towards 15-30 year olds, particularly younger males as they tend to respond more positively to sarcasm. The posters for these movies will typically have the main characters smiling or doing an absurd act to show that the movie is meant to be comedic.

Example: In the Scary Movie poster, the main villain who is mocking Ghostface, the antagonist from Scream, has a smiling mask on and is enjoying popcorn. This is different from Ghostface from Scream, who was a cold blooded killer, creating a sense of comedy.

Samples:

The film Ted (2012) is a movie about a friendless 8-year- old John Benett who wishes on a shooting star that his teddy bear comes to life, which it does. This childlike wonder is parallel with Ted remaining alive into John’s adult life, where Ted gets into comedic situations like filling John’s apartment with prostitutes, with one defecating on the floor. This absurdness sets the tone for the movie, as John and Ted fight each other for constantly getting the other into terrible situations. Although the main focus is on John and Ted’s eccentric situations, the story also focuses on John as a character as he struggles to propose to his girlfriend and deal with Ted constantly bringing him down. The poster itself is simple, featuring John and Ted sitting on the couch while having a drink. This sets up the light hearted yet comedic tone of the movie. The slapstick comedy and ridiculous story help make Ted fit inside the comedy genre.

Project X (2012) follows three senior students who are typically regarded as “losers” in their school attempt to throw a party to become popular at their school. The movie opens with the main character, Thomas, ranting about all of the things he wants for his party, immediately preparing the audience for the comedic tone of the movie. The movie quickly turns absurd as the main characters steal a garden gnome from T-Rick, a prominent drug dealer, to serve as their party’s mascot. This leads to a series of comedic events as their party quickly escalates out of control, leading the protagonists to get into comedic situations, with the climax of the movie featuring T-Rick coming to the party with a flamethrower in an attempt to get his garden gnome back. The poster features the 3 protagonists with their party in the background, demonstrating how crazy this movie will be.