Guys, I Think Comedies Might Be Dead

Comedies might be dead, guys. I don't know. There are still funny shows, I guess. Funny stand-up comics, of course. But what about comedy films? Barbie would be a shining example of one of the great recent comedies to come out in theaters and actually be successful. But, let's be real here: it's a movie based on a hugely popular product. If it was called anything else, would it have had a chance? If The Hangover came out today or 40 Year Old Virgin or Step Brothers or Tropic Thunder... wouldn't they all likely flop in the box office? Other than Barbie, it just doesn't feel like your average comedy could make much noise and/or become the cultural touchstone that Barbie has become.

And while I'm happy to see Barbie do so well, my god is the backlash annoying. That's another reason why I think comedies are generally dead. When one comes along and gains major attention, there has to be something about the movie that's deeply problematic and drives a portion of the population crazy. In the case of Barbie, it's... men. #notallmen, but the people complaining all happen to be men (I'm using that hashtag facetiously, I promise). What's funny is that a lot of the men complaining are the same ones that tell you to relax when, say, people get up-in-arms about a Dave Chappelle comedy special. I'm really disappointed with how my gender has reacted to the movie. There are plenty of cool guys out there who dig it, but man, the others who are so mad about it... you're freakin' embarrassing. If you can dish it, you have to be able to take it. Yeah, there are a lot of jokes at our expense in Barbie, but if you're seriously offended by any of them, then goddamn are you sensitive. 

That type of reaction will plague all comedy films. Thing is, if you're making a comedy film that doesn't really say much of anything, it's probably not going to gain much traction in pop culture. It would have to be a super quotable movie with a major star or a star-making performance that gets everyone talking. Otherwise, the only other way to get attention from a comedy is to pull no punches and when you take that approach, people will be offended... loudly... all over social media and in media general. The fact that we've had someone like Bill Maher "speak up" on Barbie like it's such a serious issue that needs to be addressed... that's where we are with comedy! 

I just don't see a way out of that bullshit. I'd love to see a rise of comedies, a new wave of comedies taking pop culture by storm. Whatever the 2023 version of the Frat Pack or the Apatow-universe is, I would embrace it. But, it seems comedy writers are... well... on strike right now, but if they're not on strike, they're working on something TV/streaming-related or they're on YouTube or Tik Tok. Come to think of it, there was another big studio comedy that came out this year... No Hard Feelings with Jennifer Lawrence, but I swear the only thing I've heard about that movie is the fact that J-Law gets naked in it. That's it. Also, when you check the movie's wikipedia page, there's a whole section dedicated to "controversy". Underneath: complaints that J-Law's character is grooming the 19-year-old main character. This part really struck me: 

           "Feldman, who plays Percy, said in an interview regarding the controversy that, "The film never condones the things that Jennifer's character does or that my character's parents do. This is a movie about flawed people and it's a cringe comedy. You're meant to cringe! You're meant to sit with those uncomfortable feelings." He also noted that the film normalizes "wanting to find love and connection," not pressuring young males to have sexual relationships."

When people have to explain the jokes afterwards, then you know it's true: comedies are dead. Because what do you need in comedy? People to laugh. And while, yes, there are still some audiences who do have a sense of humor, they are drowned out by the loud, angry, offended crowd. I hate to be the guy complaining about people being offended, but my complaints stem from the "Barbie is anti-male" crowd. What those guys don't realize is, the more of a stink they create about Barbie, the more other comedy films will be open to criticism. What we should be doing is making some sort of pact. You can have Barbie, can we have another R-rated This Is The End-type comedy with zero backlash attached to it and then we can be even?

But in all seriousness, we all know how risk-averse major studios are, so I gotta imagine they hear about the backlash to a movie like Barbie and all of a sudden, the leash on other comedies (if they even manage to get made) will be even tighter. 

You know what's coming out tomorrow? Strays. An R-rated movie with foul-mouthed talking dogs. I got to see it a little while ago and I thought it was hilarious. On Rottentomatoes, it has a 54% approval and I've heard zero buzz on the movie despite Jamie Foxx, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, and Randall Park all voicing characters in the movie. I have no faith it's gonna do serious business. Why? Because comedy is dead. (Please prove me wrong, world.)

The Elephant in the Room

 

I started writing this on July 30th, then I had work, then I went outta town. Goddamnit guys, it's hard for me to maintain a blog! So anyway, I'll just keep this brief so I can finish this blog post and move on... 

Of all the times to want to get back into writing about movies, we just so happen to be going through the most tumultuous time in the history of Hollywood. Maybe "tumultuous" is an overstatement, but I don't know about you guys... I don't see a solution to these strikes anytime soon, do you? Both the Writers and Actors striking at the same time? And it sounds like the studios aren't even willing to negotiate, let alone meet the actors' and writers' demands? This thing could last a long, long time. I'm curious, too, if the actors could come to an agreement before the writers, or would it have to be a joint thing. Because it feels like they're both asking for roughly the same thing: fair compensation, residuals from streaming services, assurances they won't get replaced by A.I., etc. 

And yeah, an end doesn't appear to be in sight. What I find interesting is, technically, there are indie productions that can continue working with actors because they've agreed to the terms of the strike, indie studios like A24. I wish actors and writers can just forget about the main studios altogether and go independent. There's precedent for this: the creation of United Artists over 100 years ago saw Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D. W. Griffith coming together to make their own studio thanks to growing frustrations with the studios in the late 1910s. I don't think we'd get anything quite as drastic in 2023. I also think that the old school studios probably want to settle eventually but streamers like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple may be less willing to do so. The Silicon Valley types aren't really known for negotiating with unions. 

I'm thinking some sort of break-up is due to occur down the line. Paramount+, Disney+, and Peacock have been largely unsuccessful streaming ventures for those parent companies. Max seems to do ok for Warner Bros, but I wonder if most of the studios would eventually rather just partner with Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, selling off rights to streaming libraries and maybe collaborating on future TV and movie projects. That seems like the only way to successfully have those Silicon Valley-types be able to work with what actors and writers are demanding.

Anyway, yes, this will be an ongoing thing for the foreseeable future. I fully support what the actors and writers are doing and the way I see it, with Hollywood essentially "pausing" this is a good time for me to play catch-up on the last few years of cinema. I didn't want to continue blogging as if I wasn't aware of what was happening in the present. So, this felt like a necessary blog to get off my chest so I can move on and talk about movies. 

That said, I do hope all this gets resolved in a way that favors the writers and actors. It really is ridiculous these studio heads really don't seem to want to budge or even negotiate. What the WGA and SAG are asking for isn't really all that complicated. Fight on SAG and WGA! But yeah, I still wanna talk about movies and what not... so... I'm gonna do that... as long as I have enough time in my schedule for it, anyway!