GUEST EDITORIAL: 3 Types of Humor That Comedy Movies Should Bring Back

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/q73jLftKN-A

3 Types of Humor That Comedy Movies Should Bring Back

by Kevin Gardner

Comedy in film has changed in the last several decades. Since the general public's sense of humor is constantly evolving, this is completely understandable. However, there are a few elements of classic comedy that shouldn't be ignored or forgotten. So, here are three types of humor that comedy movies should bring back.

1. Slapstick

Slapstick was one of the pillars of classic comedy movies. Basically, it's defined as exaggerated clumsiness and violence within physical comedy. An excellent example of this is The Three Stooges. This group, made up of Larry, Curly and Moe, heavily utilized slapstick in multiple movies. While the group's humor was by no means high art, it still resonates today. Who doesn't want to see three men get into fights and throw pies at each other? Unfortunately, slapstick has become far less used in modern movies. Most jokes these days come from witty dialogue or more controlled physical comedy. While there's nothing wrong with this, it's likely that slapstick would still be successful at making people laugh. Not only that, but it's also relaxing to watch. If you're looking to laugh at a movie, you'll probably need to keep using your brain in order to get the jokes. However, slapstick allows you to sit back, take some water soluble CBD and relax while laughing.

2. Silence

For the most part, silent humor was a necessity back in the day. After all, sound in pictures wasn't always available. Despite this, there's something to be said for silence in comedy movies. Sure, a lot of humor can be taken from witty dialogue. However, letting physical humor speak for itself is often enormously successful. Take Silent Movie, which was directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks tends to satirize various film genres in his movies, and this particular offering was a send-off to silent comedy films. In the movie, all the dialogue is placed on intertitles. This allows the physical humor to take the spotlight, and it certainly lives up to expectations. In fact, there's an excellent running joke in which the only speaking character is a mime. It's also worth going back and watching the films Silent Movie was based on. While not remotely similar to modern comedy flicks, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin movies rarely fail to make viewers laugh. The genius and intricacies involved in the films' physical comedy can't be overstated. So, while it may be hard to get such a film approved, it would be excellent to see modern silent comedy movies.

3. Nonsense

Nonsense in comedy has been sorely lacking as of late. This may sound odd, but using absolutely nonsensical plots in a comedy movie is highly entertaining. The best example of this is certainly Monty Python. This comedy group consisted of John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gillam and Terry Jones. Throughout the group's television show (Monty Python's Flying Circus) and multiple movies, nonsense was used ingeniously. For instance, Monty Python's most famous film (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) was a spoof on King Arthur's quest to find the Holy Grail. However, the film somehow managed to involve flying cows, killer rabbits, dying cartoonists, discussions on swallow air-speed velocity and modern police investigations. The absurdity of these elements is part of what makes the comedy so resonant. Another great example of this is in the group's controversial film Life of Brian. In the movie, there's a chase scene between Brian and a group of Roman guards. At one point, Brian finds himself at the top of a tower with no way down. Instead of having him figure out a normal way to escape, Monty Python depicts Brian getting kidnapped by aliens. He literally gets flown around the world on an alien ship and deposited back to the scene. This moment, while completely lacking in sense, is timelessly hilarious.

Comedy movies will always be changing. However, that doesn't mean that classic jokes should be forgotten. Integrating modern and classic humor, while hard to sell, could be a great way to get audiences laughing.