Genre Research - Comedy

 Comedy: The art of laughter 

Comedies are something to watch after a long day, and you just want to breathe and get a good laugh. Whether it’s classic comedy or satire, comedy is a genre that spans generations. While this genre may seem simple, there’s a lot that goes into getting a laugh out of an audience.  

Content -

Comedy is all about making people laugh. It’s pure entertainment. The stories can range from funny twists on everyday life to crazy situational comedy. Common conventions include: 

Relationships & the world around us: Comedies talk about love, friendship, work and how everyday situations can be funny. 

Misunderstandings: comedies are often centered around chaos which ultimately lead to funny situations that can make audience laugh. 

Funny Characters: Many characters in comedies are quirky. For example, Saturday Night Live.  

Resolution: Majority of comedies end in a positive way. They like to leave the audience feeling good and relieved about the outcome of the movie. 

Production Techniques -

Comedic productions are all about timing, performance, and visuals.  

Timing is very important in comedy. If something is off by even one beat, it can change the whole meaning of the bit and cannot have the comedic relief the writer was looking for.  

Improv is also used a lot in comedies. In films, comedic actors will often improv lines and physical comedy that were not in the script to make the scene funnier than intended. 

Sound and music can really add humor to funny scripts. Whether it’s silence, sound effects or songs that leave you dying of laughter. Sound is a big piece of comedy. 

Marketing Comedy 

A lot of money goes into marketing comedies and to find the right audience to spend money, marketing is super important. 

Actors: Many big budget comedies have Hollywood super stars playing the characters.  

Trailers: In most comedy trailers, they will show some of the movies' biggest punchlines which gets the audience excited about the movie. 

Social media overtime has become a huge way to market comedies. When people see movie clips on social media channels like TikTok or Instagram, it gets them excited and persuades them to buy a movie ticket. 

Some of my personal favorite comedies include: 

There’s Something About Mary 

In the summer of 1998, the movie, “There’s Something about Mary” hit theatres. This movie stars Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz and centers around Ted’s (Ben Stiller) awkward attempt to reconnect with his gorgeous high school crush, Mary (Cameron Diaz). This romantic comedy focuses on relatable embarrassing and crazy situations which are a staple in the genre of comedy. The Farrelly brothers who directed this movie use timing and outrageous visuals to keep the audience laughing on and off throughout the entire movie.  

Blended 

“Blended” is a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore who are both huge Hollywood stars and came out in 2014.  The movie is about two single parents who go on a blind date and somehow find themselves on a family vacation together on an African safari. This film uses a beautiful location to set the stage for this comedy that puts the families into awkward yet hilarious situations. Some examples are like when Drew’s character, Lauren gets stuck parasailing or when they Adam’s character, Jim rides the ostrich. These scenes among other get a huge laugh out of the audience which is a staple for any comedy. In the end Jim and Lauren fall in love and live happily ever after, which as we know is very common in this genre. 

Some classic comedies that I would recommend to watch are