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I’ve always thought of myself as a guy who loved “funny movies.” But these are tough times for comedy fans. I happen to think that most the big, financially successful comedies of the last ten years (e.g. The Hangover, SuperBad, Horrible Bosses, Old School, Identity Thief, Bridesmaids, Ted, anything starring Adam Sandler and/or Kevin James) are just boring, over-produced, lifeless wastes of time. Back in April I tried watching Anchorman 2 on a plane and I was so bored I stopped after about 30 minutes. Then a few weeks ago I suffered through The Heat and We’re the Millers. I honesty can’t remember a single moment from either of those films that wasn’t included in their respective trailers. All of the comedies I’ve mentioned featured great performances and some funny jokes but unfortunately they all lacked excitement. And I don’t mean they lacked action; most of those movies were filled with slapstick and car chases and explosions. No, I’m talking about visual and emotional excitement. Great comedies are “great” because the audience gets sucked into the story. All of my favorite funny movies from the last decade (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissu, Shaun of the Dead, Napoleon Dynamite, Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, The Wolf of Wall Street, Hot Fuzz, A Mighty Wind, Borat, The World’s End, Pineapple Express, Django Unchained, Zombieland) are special because they’re bursting with energy and feature their own unique visual styles.
Any film nerd will recognize that four of my recent favorite comedies were directed by the same guy. Edgar Wright is the man behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim and The World’s End. Those movies all included a lot of great jokes, but they were also exciting to watch. Every scene was imbued with action and energy…even if the main characters were just sitting around having a pint.
If I wanted to write 2,000 words about why Edgar Wright is the world’s 3rd greatest living comedy director (#1 Mel Brooks, #2 Woody Allen) I’d go back to film school. Instead I’ll just embed this video by Tony Zhou of Every Frame a Painting and go eat some leftover Beef Stroganoff. The creator of this video does a really excellent job explaining what’s wrong with most modern comedies and what’s right with most of Edgar Wright’s work. He does go a little bit over board at times though. He suggests that filmmakers try emulating some of Wright’s most famous techniques. While it’s ok to be inspired by another director’s work, it’s not a good idea to just flat out ape their style. Instead, comedic filmmakers should try and imitate the energy of Edgar Wright’s work and then try and create trademarks of their own.
By the way, I was serious about that beef stroganoff. I made a bunch in my crockpot and it turned out awesome. I have a ton of leftovers so if you want some, e-mail me and I’ll put a few scoops in a ziplock baggie and fed-ex it to you. Unrefrigerated Beef Stroganoff is pretty much guaranteed to give you Ptomaine poisoning so you’ll have an excuse to stay home from work for a few days and have a marathon of all the great movies I mentioned in this post.
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