Time for a Rant: Comedy Movies

[UnseenProphet]

Gotta warn you guys that I feel that in the capitalist world we live in these days, a lot of things have gone to hell. Therefore, now and then I have to begin a little rant. Don't mind me, but please feel free to comment...

...American Pie: A Slice of Public Capitalism...

When the movie American Pie first came out, I shrugged it off - I really didn't want to see it merely because the topic of sex doesn't amuse me that much. Yes, it can be very funny if done right, but there are other topics that tend to amuse me more (I'm a fan of dark humor as of things relating to death and afterlife). Just two months ago, however, I caught in on Encore (I love that channel) and decided to watch it thinking "hey, everyone's raving, might as well catch it." So, after wasting away about two hours of my life the movie finally ended. Within an 120 minute period, I had chuckled about twice - and that was within the first fifteen minutes. While I didn't hate the movie, I failed to see what the big deal was - there were so many funnier movies to see.

Now, a month back I heard they were making an American Pie 2. To put it simply, WTF? I saw the trailer in the movies and everyone was cracking up and I was just sitting there trying to comprehend what was so hilarious - it looked like a recap of everything from the first film. There's your slice of capitalism: If there's money to be made, it will be done despite the stupidity. I thought that it had to be the dumbest movie coming out this year...until I saw the trailer for the next movie...

...Bubble Boy...

Everyone in the movie theater was, again, cracking up. For those of you who haven't heard the premise of the movie, it is this: A boy who lives in a bubble has fallen in love with the girl next door. When he hears that she is being married soon and is moving, he begins a journey to follow her and tell her he loves her. For the entire waste of two minutes that was the trailer, all it showed really was the kid bouncing off of cars and buildings, and having difficulty going through doors. Big freakin' deal...

Where have all the Monty Pythons gone? Have we really entered a period of time where we are easily entertained by childish ideas like bubble bouncing and masturbation with pastries and musical instruments? :sigh:

Give me your thoughts on the topic. I'd love to hear them. If you found these two movies amusing at all, then don't fear to tell me - I won't judge you. The fact is the quality of comedies have gone down to just public stupidity...

- UnseenProphet, the Samurai Mudokon

PS - You wanna get deeper into my psyche? My favorite comedians are Steven Wright, George Carlin (more classic than current), and Eddie Izzard.

[ August 05, 2001: Message edited by: UnseenProphet ]

[Sl'askia]

aye, Ill comment.

American Pie I never saw and don't wish to see, just doesn't catch my fancy. When it comes to movies I tend to follow my instincts, if catches my interest and I have good vibes on it, I go see it. The only time I was wrong was with George of the Jungle. That movie was so stupid that I couldn't stand it and walked out halfway (it was the first time I have ever done that).
Now, I will admit, I'm a hard person to get to laugh. That's due to my primarly neutral personality (which really annoys me sometimes). Movies that made me laugh (those that I remember off the top of my head anyway). 'The Nutty Professor', 'Flubber', 'Rush Hour', 'Shanghi Noon', 'Rumble in the Bronx' ah dang it...mind went blank...
well heres a list of funny(to me anyway) actors then..
Robin Williams
Chris Tucker
Eddie Murphy
Jackie Chan

off topic but do you know what I really hate? The Commericals they show just before the previews! ARGH! I dont want commericals! Give me more previews!

[UnseenProphet]

I take it you mean the commercials that are really meant for TV but are shoved in our faces at the theatre? Aye. Those too. When I go to see an action film, I don't want to see Britney Spear's annoying face on the screen promoting that vile Pepsi stuff (I'm a Coca-Cola Classic guy myself).

- UnseenProphet, the Samurai Mudokon

PS - I'm a BIG Jackie Chan fan.

[Melvin:squeeking paramite]

hmm.. good post! I agree with this. I mean, everyone laughs at some really moronic things. People haven't made great comedy for a while. I do,however like Ethan and Joel Coen films. They're still making great films... we need more monty python style humor!
glad you think the same way on this topic.
now,things i find funny: Monty Python, MST3K, well done dark humor, well done surreal humor, a bit of classic comedy, coen brothers, and... all around bizzare humor.
thats all for now..
(oh,yeah! cheesy horror movies! heh heh..)

[LuxoJr]

I think it's just because movies like American Pie come at the right time to a really specific audience - teenagers who find those jokes funny (and probably won't in a few years).

The successful marketing behind these films isn't that different to Monty Python in some ways...American Pie and its clones are appealing to an angsty teen generation that thrives on sexual marketing through music videos, clothing and even food products. The people that make these films know what their audiences want - sex and sex jokes - and they give it to them. It probably wouldn't have worked twenty years ago when people were looking for something else...and from your post I'm guessing you're one of the many who doesn't find this sort of thing appealing.

Monty Python was doing somthing similar in the 70s, which we know from the Austin Powers movies was a pretty irreverent era. Well, at least I'm told that young people in the 70s wanted to rebel against everything and so Python played upon this...adults at the time thought it was crap, too. There were protests when Life of Brian poked fun at Catholicism.

Monty Python still rocks, but I know some people who hate it and love the American Pie style of humour. Each fits its own historical context, I guess. Maybe Bubble Boy will be 'classic' humour in thirty years.

[Statikk HDM]

For me, humor must be wacky and somewhat demented. I've never been a fan of humor that is negative. While all seem to like the "Darker" humor here, I'm into improv and general hilarity. Here's my question, where are all the Keystone cops, The 3 Stooges and Welcome back Kotters? Does all humor need to be raunchy or a general bitchfest? Sex humor represents a taboo, A "you just don't talk about that" feeling that excites and when pulled off is hilarious. And every once in awhile I like a subtle inside joke. David Letterman is my style, not George Carlin.

[UnseenProphet]

Good posting everyone. I just don't see sex as being all that funny. I'm not the sort that'll hear a sex joke and be offended (as I am totally open-minded), but they aren't all the humorous. Same goes for farting and belching. Why does everyone laugh at this? It's the expelling of gas through the body. What is it that's so hilarious? The sound it makes? I don't know about you guys, but my choice of chuckle is different. I, myself, am a fan of jokes about religion (IE - Dogma). Here's one of my favorite George Carlin jokes:

When I was a kid and going to church, I noticed a lot of odd things. Somethings were being rewritten as of not being sins. Prime example: the meat on Friday thing. For the longest time it was a mortal sin to eat meat on a Friday and now - all of a sudden - it was fine! That means there's gotta be at least one poor guy who's roasting in Hell because he had a ham sandwich!

But, true, many jokes these days are directed towards the prime audience of our time. This being sex-jokes. Sex jokes can be funny if done well. I actually saw Scary Movie 2 (God have mercy on my soul) and hated every second of it. It was all a bunch of over-done sex/fart/burp jokes - and they weren't even done well in the first place!

- UnseenProphet, the Samurai Mudokon

[ODDBODD]

FAVE COMEDY

- BASEKETBALL (know script by heart)
- OFFICE-SPACE
- MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (know script by heart)
- MONTY PYTHON: THE MEANING OF LIFE
- SOUTH PARK
- THE PET DECTECTIVE
- HOT SHOTS ONE AND TWO
- MASK
- WAYNES WORLD!

As you can see, not one of them is based on sex! i loathe them kind of smutty crap!!

[ August 06, 2001: Message edited by: ODDBODD ]

[General Drippik]

Originally posted by UnseenProphet:
I just don't see sex as being all that funny.

Alot of people do, but I'm with you. Austin Powers, now that's funny, But different from other movies, like American Pie.

Sex is just how we reproduce. We can't become a certain type of fish that I learnt about at school and just blow ourselves up and, viola! There's two of us. It's all in sex, which is NOT a funny thing/task.

[UnseenProphet]

Yeah, I enjoyed Austin Powers 2, though I thought Dr. Evil was much more funnier than Austin.

[Zoolag]

Not to be offensive here or start arguements but how old are you Un4seen?
Cos the big problem today is that peeps who dont find certain things amusing are either to young to understand or the type of peeps who wear yellow anoracks go out in the rain and train spot. I am not trying to provoke you, i am putting my opinion across. Also i am jus' wondering if anyone has seen Road Trip. NOW THAT IS A CLASSÉ FILM! It whoops the ass' of SouthPark and other things that include sex (Dunno about American Pie...i haven't seen it) Also it was very educational. I.E The Prostate Gland. Wich wen pressure is applied to it while wanking can give you gr8 orgasmz. Now, i have only seen trailors of AP but i personally think its hilarious. Especially the uncut version were he is screwing the apple pie. I will be getting AP soon and watching it. Til then...get ready to face my wrath if i thort it was good. MUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA *Cough-Choke-Choke*

[UnseenProphet]

I'm a teenager in the middle range, Oryon. I don't share too much personal info just because. I used to tell people my real age but everyone on the FPS boards started calling me a no-good l33t3r (though I refuse to speak leet).

[Statikk HDM]

What is a 133rtr

[Statikk HDM]

Hey, what is with the Monty Python obsession. I saw a work of John Cleese and besides the airplane sketch, it sucked!!! Now, about some real funny shit, Comedy Central Presents! You always get someone new with a new brand of funny to sell to the masses. It's like Def Comedy Jam, only some Caucasians do standup! Booyah, Monty Python.

[UnseenProphet]

Comedy Central Presents! is usually very funny too and I watch it often. A l33ter, by the way, is the videogame equivalent of a punk. It's someone who spells using numbers and alphabet letters and are known for being very annoying and never shutting up.

- UnseenProphet, the Samurai Mudokon

[TheBlueScrab]

Hi
I´ve saw American Pie!
And i found this movie funny!
I know it´s very dirty but at this movie you can see dirty comedy like South Park or Harte Jungs ( A german movie : Hard Boys ) or whatever!
A lot of people in Germany visited this movie and a lot of people laughed about this movie!
Me too!
But i find this movie is little bit overstated!
A Boy who sate oneself with a hot applepie...bwahahaha!
But i can laugh about this!

Bye, TheBlueScrab

[Cloverfield]

I guess it depends... I like most people love a laugh and a good comedy movie. But I too don't see the big deal in excessive use of sex jokes. I guess it's what appeals to a larger target audience, but I haven't seen American Pie simply because I have no interest in watching a movie about a guy sticking his dick into an apple pie (ok, that's blunt, but it's what the movie is based around).

I'm pretty open-minded also, and a good sex joke is funny... but sometimes you just get too many of them if you know what I mean. I like comedy, like stuff where things go wrong, or someone says stuff that is funny.

I guess though, sex is what seems to sell. It's like in many movies (getting off the comedy theme here), the main character has an affair with someone and it's all OK. Or they sleep around w/ someone. In a movie it is seen as being normal, but really if you cheated on your boyfriend in real life you're pretty lousy.

Abe Babe...

[Cool Paramite]

Once, I have seen a movie they called a comedie: Being John Malkovich. It was'nt funny. It was a drama.

My FAVORITE comedies are:
1.Almost heroes
2.Wrongfully accused
3.Mr Maggoo
4.Mousehunt

[ August 16, 2001: Message edited by: Cool Paramite ]

[Anny]

Heeeeeeeeeey I think Jim Karrys movies are coooooooool ya know?

[Sydney]

Comedy is a really hard genre to judge. Some people might find a certain thing hillarious, while another person may find it boring. I guess different cultures find different things funny. Many say there is a difference between English, Australian and American humour.

Personally, I like subtlety, although extremeties can be very effective if they're done right. Like South Park for example. I used to shun it, believing that it only resorted to shock tactics to be funny. But after watching some of it, it's quite a funny show that actually makes some perceptive comments.

But as far as comedy goes, you can't go past Sean Micallef of The Sean Micallef Program. He's hillarious, have a look at this fan website - http://www.halfsmarts.com/micallef/index.htm
or the official site - http://www.abc.net.au/micallef/

[ August 17, 2001: Message edited by: Sydney ]

[PinkHaired Mudokon CWR]

My mom forbids me to watch sexually movies. I can watch movies that have killing and stuff but not sex until I'm 18, which I don't like sexual movies.

Look at scary movies! It's sooo nasty and I hated it because it was stupid. bubble boy looks goofy. People are just goofy and laugh at anything okay! LOL Look at Bean movie.

[UnseenProphet]

I, myself, am a fan of dark humor. Like I laughed several times at Snatch because of the subtle jokes...man I LOVE that movie.

[Melvin:squeeking paramite]

I never really said I don't like sexual humor, if its well done, its funny. But UnseenProphet mentioned movies that look much more moronic than funny. For instance, The Meaning Of Life had alot of sexual humor, but I felt it was funny because it was well-done and not so moronic.
I usually like Dark comedies... IMHO, one of the funniest comedies is Harold and Maude. That movie was very sad too... I recommend it to any one who likes dark comedy. UnseenProphet, any movies you can recommend to me, another dark humor lover?(Sometimes I like subtlety too)

[UnseenProphet]

Most Guy Ritchie films are a good source of dark humor. The show Six Feet Under (a drama) has some pretty good jokes since it takes place in a funeral parlor.

[PinkHaired Mudokon CWR]

OMG Sydney, you actually laugh and smile?

[Sydney]

Yes Pinkhaired, but you wouldn't understand it. It's a sophisticated sense of humour that you would never be able to comprehend.

[PinkHaired Mudokon CWR]

Oh..I wanna tryyyyyiiee!

[Dakkan Blackblade]

Oddbobb has al my favorites dow except for half-baked. I havn't seen a new good comedy since it.

[LuxoJr]

Micallef is hilarious. He did a sketch about the science of door-holding etiquette that still cracks me up.