Comedy/stupidity

[GILBERTO]

My girlfriend tells me she don't like comedies caus thr stupid
But isnt comedy stupidity?
there must be a fine line between the two
script writers must have such a hard job to make sure a joke's just enough stupid to be funny, but not too much to be stupid!
personally, the stupider the better ,like the naked gun movies, they cracked me
But then something like Austin Powers is stupid to me, why?

what type of comedies make u pee in ya shorts?

 

[LordFireworm]

Your girlfriend is horribly wrong.
Austin Powers IS stupid because it's just penis jokes but there's an incredible amount of wit involved with early Zucker brother movies like the Naked Gun and Airplane.Further up the ladder we have Christopher Guest Movies (Spinal Tap,Best Of Show) and then Coen Brother films which have more intelligence in their one liners than most other "serious" movies do combined.

 

[SlaughterofSoul]

Women are generally stupid. Just pat her on the ass, and tell her to get back to making pies.

Seriously, she'll love you for it.

Comedy movies like LordFireworm mentioned, plus Caddyshack(The first one), the Monty Python Films, and most of the Mel Brooks movies.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Well, although I would concur that it's pretty inane to claim you don't like comedies because they're stupid, by no means is comedy synonymous with infantile stupidity. Take any film from The Coen Brothers for instance, or even most Kevin Smith films. Anyway, concerning recent witty comedies, I would firmly advise that you investigate Robert Fulcini and Shari Springer Bergman's "American Splendor." It was actually my pick for the best film of 2003, not that my opinion holds any semblance of public prestige or anything.

 

[LordFireworm]

or even most Kevin Smith films.

Uhh...I'd have to disagree with you on that one.

I do, however, agree with you on the subject of American Splendor.Paul Giamatti is probably my favourite actor in the world.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Uhh...I'd have to disagree with you on that one.

How so? With the exception of perhaps "Jersey Girl" and "Mallrats," all of his films are remarkably clever if you can tolerate the often gratuitous vulgarity factor. Have you seen "Chasing Amy" or "Dogma"?

 

[LordFireworm]

How so? With the exception of perhaps "Jersey Girl" and "Mallrats," all of his films are remarkably clever if you can tolerate the often gratuitous vulgarity factor.

You're forgetting his most retarded movie of all, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
I like Clerks alot but the problem with Smith is that he has a tendency to overwrite. I certainly wouldn't even put his name remotely near The Coen Bros either.
By the way, I have seen both Chasing Amy and Dogma too, and while the latter has an interesting storyline, it just fails to excite me at all.
He's also a really shitty director.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

You're forgetting his most retarded movie of all, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
I like Clerks alot but the problem with Smith is that he has a tendency to overwrite. I certainly wouldn't even put his name remotely near The Coen Bros either.
By the way, I have seen both Chasing Amy and Dogma too, and while the latter has an interesting storyline, it just fails to excite me at all.
He's also a really shitty director.

Well, I suppose we share a differing perspective on the matter, being that I thought "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" was one of the most wickedly clever films on pop culture and Hollywood of the last decade, albeit containing a FEW stupid one-liners. Also, concerning your remark on his directorial abilities, Smith has frequently commented in past interviews that he doesn't see himself as a particularly remarkable director, and that dialogue rather than aesthetics are the primary focus of his films.

The wonderful quality of Smith's films is that he's one of the few screenwriters on the planet that could place two actors before the camera for an unusually lengthy period of time, have them converse, and still manage to entertain and enlighten me. That being said, I would have to agree with you that he isn't a top-notch director.

 

[speed]

I dont care for kevin smith at all, I dont like his writing, i dont like his direction, i dont like hs acting. That being said, many people find him to be clever and funny, and I am not about to take that away from anyone.

Personally I would somewhat agree with this dude's girlfriend, there are very few decent comedies anymore, and very very few comedians or movies can be "stupid" and be funny at the same time. I m thinking of all the talentless Adam Sandler comedies, Chris Farley, some of Jim Carrey's work ( i do think he is a comedic genius with alot of talent). ALot of stupidity thats never really all that funny- and these guys are most popular movie comedians today.

If you want good comedy go out and rent a Peter Sellers movie, or an old charlie chaplin movie, Laurel and HArdy, The three stooges, old woody allen. Dig up the 80's comedies of chevy chase, steve martin, john candy. eddie murphy, back to school with Dangerfield etc.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Heh, I love Charlie Chaplin. "City Lights" is quite possibly the most timelessly-delightful film I've ever seen.

 

[speed]

well we agree on something- i still dont get the lecture i got because i joked frenchman dont have a healthy metal scene because it is not stylish enough.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

well we agree on something- i still dont get the lecture i got because i joked frenchman dont have a healthy metal scene because it is not stylish enough.

Haha, Speed, I see now that it was not only a facetious joke, but a horrible, horrible one that nobody understands. Just disregard it. I suspect you would comprehend it better if it was spoken rather than written...

 

[LordFireworm]

Saying something is a "facetious joke" is like saying something is a silly stupid.
You odd man!

Also, do you have any idea when Solondz' new movie "Palindromes" is out? I've checked on IMDB and they have nothing but shooting on it has been finished for ages...

 

[speed]

Well if i may critique your joke Plato, first it was way too long, second it sounded like a lecture one sees so often on this board, and third it wasnt over the top enough.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Saying something is a "facetious joke" is like saying something is a silly stupid.
You odd man!

No, actually.

Main Entry: fa·ce·tious
Pronunciation: f&-'sE-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French facetieux, from facetie jest, from Latin facetia
Date: 1599
1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : WAGGISH <just being facetious>
2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious <a facetious remark>

Also, do you have any idea when Solondz' new movie "Palindromes" is out? I've checked on IMDB and they have nothing but shooting on it has been finished for ages...

I haven't the faintest idea, although I'm trembling with anticipation to see what Solondz will conceive of next. The title itself is intriguing, and the plot summary at imdb is unbelievably vague. For some reason, I predict that this film will be slightly more accessible than his previous works. It's merely a hunch, though.

Well if i may critique your joke Plato, first it was way too long, second it sounded like a lecture one sees so often on this board, and third it wasnt over the top enough.

Thank you Speed, I appreciate your sincerity. It certainly was a miserable attempt, and in retrospect, I have absolutely no idea what I was thinking then. Pure, unrevised spontaneity.

 

[speed]

No no, dont stop joking around. One can never get better at it, unless one tries.

 

[abrasiverock]

To me it's always about the deadpan delivery. Can they do dead pan? If not they suck ass. Take Chris Farly for example. He is known as a second rate Jon Candy, but think about why. It's because Jon Candy can do the dead pan as well as the overacting thing. Any great comedian or comedy actor/actress can do the dead pan.

 

[~metal_maiden~]

Stupid stuff is funny.

 

[Arch]

There are degrees of humor. Some people categorize humor from being "stupid" to "smart". I vaguely remembered taking an English class on humor and here's how the teacher rank the order of dumb humor to smart ones. Top one being smart:

Satire
Wit
Sarcasm
Sardonic
Toilet humor (scatalogical)

That's as much as I can remember from it.
So the point is, humor doesn't have to be stupid. I know Dennis Miller's show is very intelligent and funny at the same time.