Comedy Movies

Comedy movies are perhaps one of the oldest genres of the movies industry with origins back in the silent movie era, mainly as it can be one of the least expensive forms of movies to produce as it is about characters rather than stunts. Comedies are usually a light-hearted plot about a central character/s that, if done well, incites laughter from the audience.

Usual elements of a comedy movie can range due to the diverse nature of what constitutes a comedy in today’s film industry, but simply put it is generally an exaggerated situation, character or action that forms the basis of a comedic movie.

Comedy movies have developed a great deal over the 20th century to create various different types of comedies for all the various style of humour.

Some of the most common styles of comedy movies are slapstick, verbal humour, screwball, spoofs, parodies and satires, romantic comedies, gross out, black comedy, action/comedies, horror/comedy and sci-fi/comedy.

Audiences have also developed over this time, with cynicism now a major part in many comedy movies which can mock many current social trends. Comedy has often thought to have offered its own version of society, mocking elements or stereotypes that perhaps people have grown weary of.  This more falls into the dry, satirical style of comedy but with audiences now having a predominately mature sense of humour; many comedies will now try to blend this into their basis.
This has also lead to the popular blended comedies, whereby other genres are mixed into the movies premise, with the intention of satisfying several levels of the audiences. Perhaps the most common of this is the action and comedy blend.

Examples of an Comedy movie is Pineapple Express and Office Space:

Types

A comedy of manners film satirises the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters. The plot of the comedy is often concerned with an illicit love affair or some other scandal. However, the plot is generally less important than its witty dialogue. This form of comedy has a long ancestry, dating back at least as far as Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare.

In a "fish out of water"-style comedy, the main character (or characters) finds himself in an unusual environment, which drives most of the humor. Situations can be swapping gender roles, as in Tootsie (1982); an age changing role, as in Big (1988); a freedom-loving individual fitting into a structured environment, as in Police Academy (1984); a rural backwoodsman in the big city, as in Crocodile Dundee, and so forth.

A parody or spoof film is a comedy that satirizes other film genres or classic films. Such films employ sarcasm, stereotyping, mockery of scenes from other films, and the obviousness of meaning in a character's actions.

The anarchic comedy film uses nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor which often lampoons a form of authority. Films of this nature stem from a theatrical history of anarchic comedy on the stage.

The black comedy film deals with normally taboo subjects, including, death, murder, suicide and war, in a satirical manner.

Gross-out films are a relatively recent development, and rely heavily on vulgar, sexual or "toilet" humour.

The romantic comedy sub-genre typically involves the development of a relationship between a man and a woman. The stereotyped plot line follows the "boy-gets-girl", "boy-loses-girl", "boy gets girl back again" sequence. Naturally there are innumerable variants to this plot, and much of the generally light-hearted comedy lies in the social interactions and sexual tensions between the pair.

It was not uncommon for the early romantic comedy film to also be a screwball comedy film. This form of comedy film was particularly popular during the 1930s and 1940s. There is no consensus definition of this film style, and it is often loosely applied to slapstick or romantic comedy films. Typically it can include a romantic element, an interplay between people of different economic strata, quick and witty repartee, some form of role reversal, and a happy ending.

Hybrid genres

• Action comedy films blend comic antics and action where the film stars combine wit and one-liners with a thrilling plot and daring stunts. The genre became a specific draw in North America in the eighties when comedians such as Eddie Murphy started taking more action oriented roles such as in 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. These type of films are often buddy films, with mismatched partners such as in Midnight Run, Rush Hour, Bad Boys, and Hot Fuzz. Slapstick martial arts films became a mainstay of Hong Kong action cinema through the work Jackie Chan among others. It may also focus on superheroes such as The Incredibles & Hancock.Comedy horror is a type of horror film in which the usual dark themes are treated with a humorous approach. These films are either use goofy horror clichés such as in The Old Dark House, Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, Haunted Mansion and Scary Movie where campy styles are favoured. Some are much more subtle and don't parody horror, such as Shaun of the Dead. Another style of comedy horror can also rely on over the top violence and gore such as in Dead Alive (1992), Evil Dead (1981), and Club Dread.
• Fantasy comedy films are types of films that uses magic, supernatural and or mythological figures for comic purposes. Most fantasy comedy includes an element of parody, or satire, turning many of the fantasy conventions on their head such as the hero becoming a cowardly fool, the princess being a klutz. Examples of these films include Being John Malkovich, Princess Bride, Night at the Museum, Groundhog Day, Click and Shrek.
• Sci-fi comedy films, like most hybrid genre of comedy use the elements of science fiction films to over the top extremes and exaggerated science fiction stereotypical characters. Popular examples of these types of films include Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Evolution, Innerspace, Galaxy Quest, Mars Attacks!, and Men in Black.
• Military comedy films, involve comic situations in a military setting. Examples of military comedy are The Secret War of Harry Frigg, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, Stripes, Up the Academy, MASH, Private Benjamin, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Tropic Thunder, The Private War of Major Benson, and the boisterous Flagg and Quirt movies.

Copyright: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Comedy film".