The Evolution of Comedy

Quick Side Note: This essay was written back in February for a class on Film Genres. Thought it might be good to share it on here.

It might not seem like it, but comedy is one of the most difficult genres to pull off in film. The sole purpose is to make people laugh as well as tell a story, but the truth to the matter is what may seem funny to one person isn’t going to be to another. No film is easy to make, but it’s much easier to spook an audience member with a jump-scare than it is to have them laughing out loud. Though one of the most important aspects about the genre is how it’s evolved through the years. Whether it is regarding social issues or prejudice, but unlike a hard-hitting Oscar-contender where it is often said with a straight face to build a strong dramatic impact, comedy will still take the topic seriously but it also exaggerates the situations. The comedies that we’re use to typically have adult characters that still act children that face an adult situation that starts to ‘straighten’ them up while still being themselves; we even see some of the top comedy stars playing the same kind of archetypes of a certain character, time and time again.

It might not seem like it, but comedy is one of the most difficult genres to pull off in film. The sole purpose is to make people laugh as well as tell a story, but the truth to the matter is what may seem funny to one person isn’t going to be to another. No film is easy to make, but it’s much easier to spook an audience member with a jump-scare than it is to have them laughing out loud. Though one of the most important aspects about the genre is how it’s evolved through the years. Whether it is regarding social issues or prejudice, but unlike a hard-hitting Oscar-contender where it is often said with a straight face to build a strong dramatic impact, comedy will still take the topic seriously but it also exaggerates the situations. The comedies that we’re use to typically have adult characters that still act children that face an adult situation that starts to ‘straighten’ them up while still being themselves; we even see some of the top comedy stars playing the same kind of archetypes of a certain character, time and time again.

The child-like qualities of the lead character in a comedy may seem like a new thing, especially since a lot of the hot comedies in this era star actors and actresses like Seth Rogen, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, and Melissa McCarthy who feel as if they are unable to play any other character besides an immature yet seemingly economically well-off individual. Though if one were to take a quick look at each decade, they will find that there were actors who played the same kinds of roles as well, stars like Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Jim Carrey thrived in roles like these. Go back to the year 1955 and you’ll find the Tom Ewell/Marilyn Monroe romantic comedy The Seven Year Itch directed by Billy Wilder, a film that finds Richard Sherman (Ewell) a married New York businessman whose wife and kids leave him for the Summer. He soon falls in love with a much younger woman (Monroe), who behaves like a child, including standing over a subway grating with her dress blowing upwards revealing her legs (Gehring 86). Ewell’s character constantly is fantasizing about Monroe’s character as well revealing a more adolescent type personality.

Now flash forward to the year 1997 with the Kevin Kline-led comedy In & Out directed by Frank Oz. The film which is inspired by Tom Hank’s 1994 Oscar acceptance speech, follows Howard Brackett (Kline), a well-liked English teacher in a small town in Indiana, who is about to marry his fiancé Emily (Joan Cusack). Though his seemingly quiet life is flipped upside down when his former student Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) outs him as gay during his Oscar acceptance speech for Best Actor. Howard now finds himself questioning his own sexuality, reflecting on his sensitiveness, urge to dance, and his undying love of Barbara Streisand; is he gay or is his former student just misguided? Throughout the film Kline’s typically straight-laced character starts to become looser and his true-self starts to show. A key scene in the film has Howard listening to a tape on how to be a man, he starts repeating phrases such as “Yo! Hot damn!” and when it comes to the phrase “What a fabulous window treatment!” it’s revealed to all be a trick. When it comes to a demand not to dance, he can’t help but start dancing all around the house in a childlike fashion. (Maslin 137) Howard’s quick reactions to certain things can be seen as immature and ignorant, for example when he assaults Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) after he congratulates him for coming out as gay during his wedding.

Fast forward a decade later and we have the Seth Rogen-Katherine Heigl romantic comedy Knocked Up, the sophomore directing debut of Judd Apatow, a director who is widely known to have revitalized the modern R-Rated comedy. The film follows 23 year-old bachelor and party-boy Ben (Rogen) who gets in one-night-stand with workaholic Alison (Heigl). When Alison learns she’s pregnant she and Ben decided that they need to learn to love each other and be able to start their own unexpected family. Throughout the movie Rogen’s Ben is often seen being care-free, constantly dicking around, watching porn, and smoking marijuana. Here in this film lies one of the most vital examples of the childlike adult in a comedy, the point of the movie is that Ben won’t grow up and face the real world, it is not until he learns he is going to be a father that he decides to face reality. One scene in particular is during an earthquake, instead of checking on Alison and making sure she is safe, Ben goes straight for his bong and runs outside in fear. It is then revealed that Ben hasn’t even been reading the parenting books given to him by Alison.

Comedy tends to tackle issues or changes that we face in life in a lighthearted way, it can often be exaggerated but still feel grounded in realism. The Seven Year Itch discusses the sexual urges that men can have, In & Out talks about public reaction to somebody who is in the LGBT community and Knocked Up speaks on the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy as well as the state of modern relationships and marriages. Though one thing to look at with these three comedies is when they were each released, The Seven Year Itch came out in 1955 and despite it’s themes on adultery, never showed that much besides kissing and Monroe’s legs. In & Out premiered in 1997 and while the film was the first of it’s kind, being a mainstream movie that features a same-sex kiss, the film never goes beyond that. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that it “is not a film to wonder how the star learned his teacher’s secret or to associate gayness with actual sex, then offers Howard this inspired way to act out his confusion.” (137) Knocked Up opened in 2007, which critic Peter N. Chumo describes that “Apatow’s great achievement is balancing the raunchy humor with heartfelt empathy for his characters.” (232) Unlike the other two films, Knocked Up isn’t afraid to show sex and nudity in the film. In fact, the film contains two prolonged sex scenes between Rogen and Heigl, as well as it includes scenes featuring nudity, sex scenes aside, during the earthquake scene as well as a scene at a strip club. It just proves that the evolution of comedy is dependent on the changing of our culture and what we find as socially acceptable.

As stated earlier Judd Apatow is known as the pioneer for the modern R-Rated comedy, because of Knocked Up and his first film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, there was a boost in the amount of R-rated comedies that weren’t afraid to shy away from sexual content, raunchy humor, and drug-use. Often-times these films would star the same group of comedians as well such as Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, and James Franco. Looking back at In & Out in 1997, the film was just another staple in Kline’s career where he was a hot-ticket star for comedy, especially after his Oscar win for the comedy film A Fish Called Wanda, Kline was constantly appearing in comedies such as I Love You To Death, Soapdish, Dave, French Kiss, and Fierce Creatures. Like Apatow’s crew of actors, Kline had was known for working with the same actors, one being John Cleese. With The Seven Year Itch neither Ewell nor Monroe were that known for being comedians, in fact according to Dr. Wes D. Gehring “Ewell’s first love was the stage” (85). Monroe wasn’t even particularly known for her comedy chops either; first and foremost, she was widely known as a sex simple.

While there are still comedies today that star non-comedic stars, such as the upcoming Harmony Korine film The Beach Bum which stars Matthew McConaughey, who was thought to have fully transitioned from starring in romantic comedies alongside Kate Hudson to only doing prestige films and serious dramatic films after his Oscar win for Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club. Even two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has recently stepped comedy starring in films from the likes of Thor: Ragnarok, Ocean’s Eight, The House With A Clock In It’s Walls, and the forthcoming Where’d You Go, Bernadette from acclaimed director Richard Linklater. Even look at this year’s Best Picture nominees which includes films like The Favourite, Vice, and Green Book, which all contain comedic elements within them, despite starring stars who don’t particularly act in comedy.

One of the most popular tropes in comedy is to lead to a breakup and/or realization during the end of the second act, leading into the third where a resolution occurs. Though The Seven Year Itch avoids falling into the typical trappings of this trope, as the film actually ends with Richard Sherman actually leaving the young woman behind to be with his own family. In & Out features a wedding scene in which instead of saying “I do” Kline’s Howard pronounces “I’m gay” breaking the heart of Cusack’s Emily, though again the film never really has a full resolution between these two characters. It’s really only Knocked Up that fully utilizes this trope, in a scene between Rogen’s Ben and Heigl’s Alison where they get in a massive argument in the doctor’s office with Alison calling Ben out for his immaturity and unwillingness to grow up, while Ben calls out Alison for always being so up-tight and constantly nagging Ben and the other men in her life. This break-up lasts up until the last twenty minutes of the film, when Alison starts to go into labor and nobody is around to help her, she counts on Ben, this is when the two of them end up settling their differences and reconcile.

Comedies also tend to have happier endings rather than the typical prestige film, which will often have an ending that can be thought-provoking, depressing, or ambiguous, comedy likes to wrap things up in a neat little bow and gives our protagonists the ending that they deserve, or more importantly the ending that the audience wants. The Seven Year Itch closes with Richard leaving New York to go be with his wife and kids in Maine and be a faithful husband and is ultimately able to resist his urges for the young woman living next door. In & Out ends with Howard’s mother and father renewing their vows and getting the wedding that they wanted Howard to have, with it being revealed that Howard has now started a relationship with Selleck’s Peter, and it’s hinted that Emily might now be in a relationship with Cameron. The film resolves with the entire cast dancing to Macho Man by The Village People and Howard finally being able to be himself. Knocked Up ends with Alison giving birth to a baby girl, Ben getting a job and leaving his old partying life behind, and the two moving in together with the baby in an apartment. While there are some cases where the film ends with something dark, in particular a dark comedy, that is more likely to end with something bitter, the average comedy likes to be optimistic.

Comedy is a genre that has evolved and shown change over the years, while still being able to conform to certain plot beats and tropes. These are films that are meant to address the obstacles we come across in our everyday lives and is able to gracefully say that people can change. It’s an exaggerated version of our everyday lives that can still feel somewhat grounded in reality.

Works Cited

Chumo, Peter N. “Knocked Up.” Magill's Cinema Annual 2008, Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008, pp. 231–233.

Gehring, Wes D. Movie Comedians of the 1950s: Defining a New Era of Big Screen Comedy. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2016.

“In & Out.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 19 Sept. 1997, www.imdb.com/title/tt0119360/. “Knocked Up.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 1 June 2007, www.imdb.com/title/tt0478311/?ref_=nv_sr_1.

Maslin, Janet. “In & Out.” The New York Times Film Reviews, 1997-1998, Times Books/Garland Pub., 2000, pp. 137–138.