Comedy films are films designed to make the audience laugh. A common characteristic of comedy is an exaggeration of events, which is done to provide further amusement to viewers. Comedies also tend to have happy endings, keeping in line with the general light-heartedness of the genre. Some movies may even take typical frustrations experienced by most viewers and portray them in a non-serious manner. As with all movies, comedies contain at least one conflict. These conflicts may be caused by numerous events, such as an exaggerated misunderstanding or a case of mistaken identity. Comedy allows the audience to “take a break” from the hassles of life and enjoy a couple hours of pure amusement (Dirks, 2017). There are two main presentations of
However, the developing love is between two friends, rather than a romantic interest. Conflict results early in the movie when Miss Daisy wrecks her car and is unable to drive. Her son, Boolie (played by Dan Aykroyd), hires Hoke to drive Miss Daisy around town. She is not happy with this decision, which leads to her stubbornness and rudeness toward Hoke and Boolie, both. While it does not seem as if Miss Daisy will ever like Hoke, the film ends with a close friendship between the two. This happy ending is another characteristic of a typical comedy (Zanuck, Zanuck, & Beresford, 1989). The film, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), is a great example of a comedy. It is classified as a type of parody, known as a lampoon or satire. The movie originated from the creators of a humor magazine known as National Lampoon. The magazine began releasing films in 1978, all with comedy as the genre. Chevy Chase was the lead actor in several of the films, portraying the father and husband of a family that wants nothing more than to spend time with his family. However, during this time, something always seems to go wrong for him, providing numerous instances of hilarity for the audience (Dirks,
For example, Clark Griswold becomes obsessed with decorating his house for Christmas with as many lights as possible. When he turns on the lights, he causes a power outage in the area and there is a brief scene showing someone switching on a nuclear reactor to solve the problem. This is an example of an exaggerated event to elicit laughter from the audience. The film also demonstrates an example of a common frustration of life for some people: spending the holidays with extended family and trying to get along with everyone in close proximity. The film, however, manages to portray this situation in a funny way. Despite all of the conflict among family members, however, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) results in a happy ending, just like the majority of comedy films (Hughes, Jacobson, & Chechik,
According to Aristotle, “Comedy can be any colloquy or performance generally intended to amuse or stimulate laughter”. In modern times, comedy can be found in different forms, such as television, movies, theatres and stand-up comedy.
The movie Four Christmases has two main characters are Vince Vaughn (Brad) and Reese Witherspoon (Kate). This movie is about an unmarried couple that has no plans of getting married or having children anytime soon. Every Christmas they plan an adventurous vacation for the two of them. They do this to avoid going to all of their families’ houses for the holiday. This year Kate and Brad planned to go to Fiji for vacation, but the weather took a turn for the worst and they weren’t able to go. Due to the weather, their flight got cancelled. The news caught them on live television alerting their families that they were now available for Christmas. Both Brad and Kate’s families are divorced, so there were four families to visit. They plan
...dness but comedy was used as an emotion. When Michael was going to make a "citizens arrest" at the banks, there was comedy there, sort of like sarcasm which is known to sway a person's thoughts if it is funnier in the sense. The whole movie really shows a lot of emotions and tries to persuade our thoughts on the government with it.
In the movie, the three main types of comedy I recognized were farce, parody, and satire. Farce is comedy designed to provoke the audience into simple, hearty laughter and often uses highly exaggerated or caricatured character types and puts them into improbable and ludicrous situations. It also makes use of broad verbal humor and physical horseplay. Some examples of farce in the movie are:
In 1966, while heading up the animation division at MGM Studios, Jones directed one of the most memorable holiday television specials ever produced, “Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” First aired on Sunday, December 18, 1966, the half-hour special was met with glowing reviews from newspapers across the country and has since become one of the most beloved holiday programs on television.
When tracking the evolution of the plot through the book, written by Valentine Davies, and the 1947, ‘73, and ‘94 movies there are a few key continuities and changes. Chief among the constant elements of the plot are the Christmas theme, idea of imagination, and the importance of family. Christmas spirit and the belief in Santa Claus is the focal point in each version of the movie, just like the book. On the other hand, the roles of women, setting, and ethical guidelines changed throughout the movies. Women became increasingly more independent with time, the settings of the movies gradually changed, and as the ethical guidelines for the movie evolved with
By definition the comedy and tragedy are opposite ends of the spectrum of human emotion. Comedy being associated with the positive aspects, happiness, laughter, joy; while tragedy is associated with the negative aspects, revenge, hatred, sadness etc. It is here that the author makes his first error in his article. Rather than discussing the basis of these emotions he simply glosses over them, stating that an acceptable theory is yet to be provided that can succinctly answer why we laugh and why we cry. Furthermore he offers that those that would like to further their understanding, to visit...
The first instance of ambiguity between comedy/drama begins directly at the beginning credits of the film, with the brilliant shot of a uniform waltzing party, in carousel motion, or a perfect circle. From my perspective, I was unable to recognize w...
It is this mix that so marks the play out from pure comedies such as
Comedies, on the other hand, use settings that are somewhere in between interior and exterior for representing certain situations. It is rather difficult to find cinematic
Ryan, Matt. Top 5 Scenes From National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation [VIDEO]. 7 December 2013. video. 22 March 2014. .
In society today, there are thousands of genres in the world that can be used in a plethora of ways. Probably the most common and most popular genres in this current generation are horror and comedy. These genres are found at the opposite end of the spectrum but it is not rare to see them side by side in movie theaters or even some libraries. Horror and comedy are known for their fictitious storylines along with some semblance of a lesson to be learned. Although in most cases lessons that are taught in horror films or novels are more likely to stick then in a comedy situation.
A tragedy is defined as beginning with a problem that affects everyone, i.e. the whole town or all the characters involved, the tragic hero must solve this problem and this results in his banishment or death [run-on sentence]. A comedy is defined as also beginning with a problem, but one of less significant importance. The characters try to solve the problem and the story ends with all the characters uniting in either a marriage of a party. Although these two genres are seen as being complete opposites of each other, through further analysis one can gather that though they are different certain similarities can also be seen.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and
Humor has been the source of entertainment throughout history. Today humor is practiced in movies, plays, songs, television shows and radio. Humor has brought fame and fortune to those who have mastered its power.