Movie Comedy: At an all-time low? (1 Viewer)

[TheLongshot]

To all those who didn't like RH2, I just shake my head. I think it is a testiment to the chemestry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker that it works, considering that there really isn't much of a plot. I was highly entertained by the film.
As for Chris Tucker, no, I don't think he's leading man material, but he's been good in what he's been asked to do in smaller roles. He's good in roles where he is supposed to be annoying. I liked him in "The 5th Element" and his very brief appearance in Jackie Brown. (I've also heard that he was good in Friday as well.) Yeah, he's annoying, but he at least knows his place.
"Jay and Silent Bob" was one of the funniest films this year. Period.
AP2 was better than it should have been. It did suprise me somewhat that it still had some of the same heart that the first one had. It ran out of steam toward the end, but it was probably better than average.
In general, yeah, I do think that most comedies serve the lowest common denominator nowadays, but that has been true a lot over the years. I think the big problem is that there aren't many good comidic actors being developed today. Mike Myers was probably the last good comidic actor produced by SNL, and there haven't been many that have been good since the 80s. Also, a lot of the good comedic actors have moved on to doing more serious stuff. Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and Dan Acroyd all have moved somewhat away from comedy.
What we have left are standups who aren't good actors (Chris Rock), actors with limited appeal (Chris Tucker, Martin Laurence, Tom Green) and guys who play the same character over and over again (Adam Sandler).
It also doesn't help that the big comedy directors of the 80s are in big slumps and there hasn't been anyone to step in. As someone said, there is Wes Anderson, but not much else...
Jason
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[Brad_W]

Remember, Jay Roach is a good director for comedies.
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"I was born to murder the world." -Nix (Lord of Illusions)
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[BarryR]

To me a godsend for the "serious" student of comedy today are BEST OF SHOW and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, the Christopher Guest ensemble comedies that are total hilarity without imaging their audience as sophmoric yahoos.

 

[Jon_Are]

cause I won't be rolling in the isles when someone on screen says 'This one time...at band camp...'

Which isles will you not be rolling in? The Hawaiian? The Canary? The Thousand?
(sorry, unable to resist)
Jon
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[Jeff Kleist]

If I were Jackie Chan, I would have sued to keep Chris Tucker from poisoning my US debut. He's too nice of a guy to do that, and I really respect him for not ego-tripping, and promoting the butchered Drunken Master 2 anyway, because he's so happy US audiences got to see MOST of it.
Chris Tucker is the reason why I skipped both Rush Hours in the theater, and the reason why I will have my fingers on the Fast Forward and Mute buttons when I watch the rented DVD. I'm just glad Jackie's finally doing a solo US movie, then I can enjoy it without having mid-movie fantasies of Chris Tucker's mouth meeting my Louisville Slugger
Anyone see him on SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy? Sweet Sweet revenge
Jeff Kleist

 

[Glenn Overholt]

No, it is nowhere near an all-time low - it's just changing (again).
The comedies of the early '60's probably wouldn't make it in today's market. If you grew up with those, like I did, seeing the 70's comedies was quite a shock at first. The entire layout of the movie changes so much so that they are hardly recognizable anymore.
Ditto for the '80's teen flicks. Some of them were really, really bad. It was like they were trying to break new ground in what a comedy really was.
I don't even want to talk about There's Something About Mary. (Ok, maybe I do). It was funny, but it was sick too, and no, the sick parts did not make me laugh. I'm just showing my age here, but I think you get the point.
Glenn

 

[Shad R]

Movies Like "Naked Gun" "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and even "Hot Shots" are far superior to the stuff they pass off as comedy today. "Bubble Boy" makes "Ace ventura" look like a wonderful work of art(didn't see buble boy, trialer alone looks AWEFUL!) The above movies were funny because they blended smart comedy, one-liners, obserd moments, slap-stick and great delivery all in one for a great belly laugh. I'm sorry, watching Rob Schnieder smack a goat's ass isn't funny, niether is Chris Tucker yelling "EVER HEARD OF POPEYS" Don't even get me started on Tomcats or Freddy Got Fingured. I wish I could see a good, old fashioned, funny movie, RatRace was the closest I've seen lately. I wish studios would produce smart but zany movies like the "naked gun" movies. for shame.

 

[Phil Florian]

The Brits used to make good rip roaring comic yarns...or at least well plotted, witty asides...but even that market is in a slump. Since the funny and sweet Full Monty, it seems like I keep seeing ads for a lovable cast of can-do down and out brits making it work and laughing all the way. Waking Ned Devine, Up the Hill and Came Down a Mountain (predates Full Monty, but same can-do attitude)... and others. The newest version is a preview I saw before Ghost World...some "Green something," a movie about a lovable cast of can-do down and out murderers and thieves who take up gardening and win the hearts of all England..before attempting to shoot and rob them, we can only presume. Oh my. I do like the "Bridget Jones" and "Four Weddings" varieties of film (funny and lewd in all the right places), but more are needed.
Phil
And don't get me started on Woody Allen...
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[Neil Joseph]

I agree that todays comedy is pretty lame and forced. Being from England originally, I like the more subtle comedy at times. That is a hard thing to find these days. The last comedy film that got me laughing was There's Something About Mary. I consider Planes, Trains, and Automobiles to be a classic.
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[John Thomas]

I got to this thread late; however I feel that Seth summed up Kevin Smith's "deal" pretty well. He gets that particular type of comedy and sets it up well in his films.
Put me on the "Pro-Tucker" list; I enjoyed both Rush Hour movies, Friday, The Fifth Element and his contribution to each of these films.
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[Elbert Lee]

Comedy has evolved and I don't think comedies geared toward kids (Bubble Boy) really depict the current trend for comedies. Movies like Naket Gun and the Monty Python films can't be repeated because people have seen them and subsequent comedies will have less of an effect.
I believe that there are 2 forms of modern comedy that has begun with "Get Shorty" the clever situation comedy that has influenced films like "Bowfinger", "Rat Race", etc. and "American Pie", which has spawned a large number of juvenile comedies. Comedy, like horror, is tough to do. However, at least they are doing something new. I don't think I can watch another Naked Gun or "Scream" rip off.
Elbert

 

[Derek Miner]

The Brits used to make good rip roaring comic yarns...or at least well plotted, witty asides...but even that market is in a slump. Since the funny and sweet Full Monty, it seems like I keep seeing ads for a lovable cast of can-do down and out brits making it work and laughing all the way.

I was pleasantly surprised by a British film called Virtual Sexuality. The first description I read of this sounded dreadful - I thought it was going to be blatantly about homosexuality (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not my taste). But I actually watched in on Cinemax one night, and it was rather sweet and clever! The story concerns a girl who is desperate to find a Mr. Right to deflower her in a perfect scenario. She is dragged by a geeky male friend to a virtual reality show, where she uses a virtual makeover booth to design her ideal mate. But a minor electrical catastrophe occurs and when she exits the booth, she has become a he.
I immediately thought about the difference in approach of American filmmakers and British filmmakers. There was a great deal of character development and observation of human nature built into this movie that would have been stripped away in favor of explicit sex gags in an American version. Oddly enough, the "tame" British film has some gratuitous full-frontal male nudity (with black bars over the naughty bits - I wonder if this was in the original British version).
Anway, there are some cute and funny moments in the film, some well observed characters and some action and sci-fi trappings. It sounds awful, but it's actually rather neat and has a definite British sensibility.
= Derek =

 

[Richard Kim]

In regards to gross out/fart jokes etc. They are not inherently bad, if used judiciously and with good timing they can be funny. However, if they're done with the sole purpose of shock value, as is the case with today's comedies, then it's a bad thing.
As for Chris Tucker, I can't stand him. His character in the Fifth Element is a thousand times more annoying than Jar-Jar can ever be.
[Edited last by Richard Kim on October 17, 2001 at 10:32 AM]