Christopher Guest: Go Directly to Comedy Jail!

[Kire]

I sat through a good chunk of "A Mighty Wind", and I didn't even crack a smile for twenty minutes.

Earlier tonight, I read a review for "Son of the Mask" by Roger Ebert, and it definitely applies here:

One of the foundations of comedy is a character who must do what he doesn't want to do, because of the logic of the situation. As Auden pointed out about limericks, they're funny not because they end with a dirty word, but because they have no choice but to end with the dirty word -- by that point, it's the only word that rhymes and makes sense. Lucille Ball made a career out of finding herself in embarrassing situations and doing the next logical thing, however ridiculous.

On "Son of the Mask", which I think also applies to Christopher Guest's latest films, Ebert says:

"It is all mania, all the time; the behavior in the movie is not inappropriate, shocking, out of character, impolite, or anything else except behavior."

More: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050217/REVIEWS/50203007

I sat through a good chunk of "A Mighty Wind", and I didn't even crack a smile for fifteen minutes.

Sure, they do whacky things, but they're not funny things. It is a fake world, a simulacrum, a mirage, a lie. I hate lies. They're so dishonest.

I don't know why anybody really likes these movies. They are adored so much, and that makes me worry for the state of our country.

And please don't tell me that I'm the one who needs to "lighten up" and "not take everything so seriously". These movies are pure anarchy, and they are more painful than funny. If comedy has rules, call me the comedy fascist. Wit has rules. Levity has rules. Humor has rules. Satire has rules. And Christopher Guest follows none of them.

It just makes me think of all of the productive things I could have been doing with my short time on this planet than watching this. The only thing good I can see that comes out of it, is that it lets me write this post, and hopefully meet some interesting, genuinely funny people who agree with me. You may say that I have to accept that there are going to be people in this world who you don't agree with. That is true. But, I do accept that, and I do accept them. I really do. I just don't think they're funny, and I don't want to invite them over for a movie.

More: More: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=2666519&mesg_id=2666519

[Orsino]

1. Genius

I suppose one might have to be in the mood for such fundamentally broken people as those in A Mighty Wind, but I love it. As with Best In Show and Waiting For Guffman, every line reveals another layer to a character's neuroses.

Best In Show has a straight man--the British announcer, though entire scenes go by without him--while Guffman and Wind do not. This might make a difference to some critics, if they subscribe to the need for Ebert's baseline. I never felt that need. The cast, much the same in all three films, are utterly brilliant.

A Mighty Wind pulled off another very neat trick. By the end of the film, it made me nostalgic for this music I'd never heard before. I was particularly impressed that those fantastic actors were performing it all (?) themselves.

[Kire]

2. neuroses aren't funny for neuroses' sake

that's my opinion

[Orsino]

3. Yeah. That's a basic comedic principle.

As my drama prof used to say, it's not funny to watch someone crazy. Watching someone *watch* someone crazy--that's funny. This is why I never enjoyed Brother Theodore. Usually, we need a straight man.

Not so with Guest's films, IMO. The scripts perform an elegant balancing act, in which you constantly expect normal behavior from a character, only to be amazed, amused or aghast when next he opens his mouth. These folks are not merely ranting; they're getting by in something very like the real world, and their disconnect from that reality is what I find funny and tragic. What can be even funnier is watching two *different* neuroses play out against each other--perhaps each functions a bit like a straight man for the other?

No, neurosis isn't funny in itself. When artfully revealed, though, the shock of recognition can be hilarious.

[hermetic]

4. I'm with you Orsino

At the end of Wind, I laughed until I was crying. And I did grow up with that music and thought they played it to the hilt. And of course they did do Spinal Tap so maybe in comparison the others weren't quite as hilarious. I have all of them and do not tire of watching them over again.

[jdots]

5. Not everyone can get the joke

the punch line is not there and doesn't have to be

[Kire]

6. there you go

exclusion, the reason I am angry about this