Lecture 6:Lecture 6:Negotiating Story and LaughsNegotiating Story and Laughs

Professor Daniel Cutrara

Very Bad Things (1998)Written by Peter Berg

Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• Unity and Variety

• Pacing,Rhythm,Tempo

• Time Lock

This LessonThis Lesson

• The Problem of Comedy

• Subgenres

• Negotiating Laughs

• Assignments

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The Problem of ComedyThe Problem of Comedy

Lesson 6: Part I

““Comedy writers often feel that in Comedy writers often feel that in their wild world the principles that their wild world the principles that guide the dramatist don’t apply. guide the dramatist don’t apply. But whether coolly satiric or madly But whether coolly satiric or madly farcical, comedy is simply another farcical, comedy is simply another form of storytelling.”form of storytelling.”

-- Robert -- Robert McKeeMcKee

ComedyComedy

• According to McKee: Comedy critiques society.

• Comedy is pure. If the audience laughs it works. If it doesn’t laugh, it doesn’t work.

• Comedy follows the rules of storytelling with only a few exceptions.

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Comic Design and PlotComic Design and Plot

• According to McKee: Comedy has the luxury of stopping the narrative drive for the sake of a comic bit or scene.– Fargo- when the police chief visits her old high

school friend.

According to Mckee:

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Comic Design and CoincidenceComic Design and Coincidence

• According to McKee: Comedy can afford more coincidence than drama, and may even allow a deus ex machina ending… if two things are done: First, the audience is made to feel that the comic protagonist has suffered enormously. Second that he never despairs, never loses hope. Under these circumstances the audience may feel, “oh hell, give it to him.”– Charlie Chaplin in The Gold Rush

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Comic Design and StructureComic Design and Structure

• Comedy is the most structured genre. • Every gag needs built whether slapstick or

dialogue.• The director and actors must know when

the audience is going to laugh, and give time for it.

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Comedy SubgenresComedy Subgenres

Lesson 6: Part II

SubgenresSubgenres

• Satire • Romantic Comedy• Sitcom, Comedy of Manners• Black Comedy• Screwball Comedy• Farce• Parody

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SatireSatire

• “ A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.” – Merriam Webster Online

• “If they trivialize the exalted, pull the trousers down on snobbery, if they expose society for its tyranny, folly, and greed, and get people to laugh, then maybe things will change.” - Robert McKee

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Romantic ComedyRomantic Comedy

• According to McKee: Romantic Comedy satirizes the institution of courtship.– The Lady Eve– When Harry Met Sally – Knocked Up

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Sitcom/Comedy of MannersSitcom/Comedy of Manners

• According to McKee: Sitcom is a satire of middle class behavior or special groups within:– Reno 911 - The Police– The Big Bang Theory - The “nerd”

• In film, director Whit Stillman takes on the preppie crowd in Metropolitan and Barcelona.

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Black ComedyBlack Comedy

• Treats serious events or topics with satire.– Dr. Strangelove: or

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb • Critiques nuclear war

and the military

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Screwball ComedyScrewball Comedy

• Includes elements such as mistaken identities, a romantic storyline, and slapstick.

• Its classic period was in the 1940s.– It Happened One Night– His Girl Friday– Bringing up Baby

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FarceFarce

• Also referred to as broad comedy. Includes unlikely, improbable elements that are over the top.– The Producers– Bowfinger– The Forty Year Old Virgin

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ParodyParody

• A literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule.” – Merriam Webster Dictionary– Austin Powers (and sequels)– Naked Gun (and sequels)– Galaxy Quest

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Mixing SubGenresMixing SubGenres

• Comedy genres can be mixed to create new forms.

• Romantic Comedy mixed with Broad Comedy• There’s Something About Mary• The Wedding Crashers

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Negotiating LaughsNegotiating Laughs

Lesson 6: Part III

The Wedding Crashers (2005)

Written by Steve Faber

and Bob Fisher

The Wedding CrasherThe Wedding Crasher

• Pause the lecture and watch the first clip from the Wedding Crashers.

• Look at the various ways that comedy is created in this scene.

• Can you find examples of slapstick, caricatures, and situation comedy?

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Meeting the GuruMeeting the Guru

• Pause the lecture and watch the second clip from the Wedding Crashers.

• Look at the various ways that comedy is created in this scene.

• How does the scene twist our expectations?

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Poaching FuneralsPoaching Funerals

• Pause the lecture and watch the third clip from the Wedding Crashers.

• As the comedy grows darker, notice how sympathy is maintained for the protagonist.

• The shift into a darker comedy is used to create a turning point for the protagonist.

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SummarySummary

• Comedy is both more flexible than other genres and more structured.

• There are many different sub genres of comedy, yet they all critique human society.

• Writers make choices about how dark their story goes and how to create sympathy for their protagonist.

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AssignmentsAssignments

Lesson 6: Part IV

The Wedding Crashers (2005)Written by Steve Faber

and Bob Fisher

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E-BoardE-Board• No E-Board

– Instead of an eboard posting this week, your Script Analysis is due.

End of Lecture 6End of Lecture 6

Next Lecture: Rules of Engagement

The Wedding Crashers (2005)Written by Steve Faber

and Bob Fisher