Genre Research: Comedy

 Researching Genre

For my project, I have three genres I want to possibly pursue: Comedy, Drama, and Action.

For the next three blog posts, I will do a deep dive into each genre and explain possible ideas for a film within each. First I will start with comedy.

Comedy

Comedy films are known for being extremely funny, and not very serious. Most people think of comedy films as silly and with no purpose other than to be funny however, there are many subgenres of comedy. Through research, I have found slapstick, romantic, parody, and dark comedy. Each subgenre has its own unique traits that make it different from the rest.

Slapstick:

These comedies focus on exaggerating physical stunts or silly gags to entertain the viewer throughout the film and usually have relatively simple plots. Think of Jim Carrey's silly movie roles. He usually plays a silly character, where he exaggerates physical movement for humor. 

Examples: Dumb and Dumber and  Liar Liar

Romantic:

These comedies focus on a battle of the sexes theme, where a strong female lead goes against a male lead. Usually, the two end up as a couple at the end of the movie except for some exceptions such as, "Legally Blond" and "My Best Friends Wedding."

Examples: The Princess Bride, Coming to America, and Groundhog Day

Parody:

These comedies mock existing movies to an extreme and are usually simple and silly. Parody films allow the audience to laugh at the seemingly ridiculous part of serious movies. These films serve the purpose to criticize art and make something new out of it.

Examples: Space Balls, Young Frankenstein, and Scary Movie

Dark:

These comedies focus on darker, more taboo themes while still being funny. They take a serious topic such as death or war and express them through a comedic lens. The idea is to represent something terrible in a comedic way without showing the disturbing realism of the situation.

Examples: Parasite and The Death of Stalin

For a comedy film, I would do a darker comedy in order to focus on serious topics that I can spin to have humor. I don't like the idea of slapstick or parody because they seem too silly and WAY too many of these types of films have been made (a lot being unsuccessful). With dark comedy, I can create a comedic story that is also well-written and worth more than being silly for laughter.

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/genre-breakdown-comedy-film/

https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26115125/romantic-comedy-definition/