In the 1960s underground film-maker John Waters used offensive or bad-taste humour in dark satires of American life such as Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble in which characters like Divine, a very loud, very large woman played by a transvestite actor, did things that were so disgusting that audience members either cringed and laughed or cringed and left. In the 1980s mainstream studio movies called gross-out comedies with the same sort of disgusting scenes, but without the satire, became quite popular. Two of the most successful were 1978's Animal House and 1999's American Pie.
Movies that tell funny stories about teenagers and their lives are called teen comedies, and those that show the humour of teen life without making fun ofteenagers include the 1988 movie Hairspray directed by John Waters, the 1998 high-school comedy Rushmore directed by Wes Anderson, and a very original 2011 Japanese teen comedy directed by Sion Sono called Love Exposure. Many of these movies are about teenage love and romance, but movies about the same topics in relation to adults belong to a different genre called romantic comedy or "rom com".
Romantic comedies show the funny side of sexual attraction, dating, falling in love, getting married, and so on. In the mid-1970s Woody Allen began making romantic comedies like Annie Hall, Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters instead of the slapstick comedies he'd been making before. In these films he plays the part of a very funny neurotic New Yorker who constantly talks about his anxieties and his difficult love life. Many romantic comedies were made in the 1990s following the success of When Harry Met Sally in 1989, including Say Anything, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Chasing Amy. Many romantic comedies have also been made in Asia since the success of the popular Korean film My Sassy Girl in 2001.
Another popular kind of comedy is the road movie in which characters have a series of funny adventures while travelling together. These movies often include an element of farce and some of the most popular include: National Lampoon's Vacation with Chevy Chase; the Australian transvestite comedy Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; and the award-winning Mexican road movie Y Tu Mamá También starring Gael GarcÌa Bernal which mixes comedy, drama, sex and teen romance.
Some of the funniest comedies ever made have been spoofs of documentaries or satires that look like serious documentaries. These films are called mockumentaries and they often include interviews with what seem to be, or sometimes are, real people in the real world. Some of the most popular mockumentaries include This is Spinal Tap which documents the career of a rock group, Waiting for Guffman about an amateur theatre group, and Best in Show which looks at the world of competitive dog shows. Other very funny mockumentaries include Sacha Baran Cohen's Borat and Bruno and Shane and Clayton Jacobson's Australian mockumentary Kennywhich documents the life and career of a plumber who specializes in portable toilets.
Comedy genres and recommended movies
- Slapstick: The Kid (1921), Duck Soup (1933), The Bank Dick (1940), Mon Oncle (1958), Playtime (1969), Sleeper (1973)
- Screwball: My Man Godfrey (1936), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), Sullivan's Travels (1941)
- Farce: Some Like It Hot (1959), The Party (1968), Raising Arizona (1987), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
- Caper: The Ladykillers (1955), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), Snatch (2001)
- Black: Dr Strangelove (1964), Heathers (1988), Man Bites Dog (1992), God Bless America (2009), Four Lions (2014)
- Dark: Harold and Maude (1971), Whitnail and I (1987), American Beauty (1999), World's Greatest Dad (2009), Wild Tales (2014)
- Satire: Being There (1979), Broadcast News (1987), The Player (1992), The Truman Show (1998), In The Loop (2009)
- Spoof: A Shot in the Dark (1964), Airplane! (1980), The Naked Gun (1988), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Spy (2015)
- Absurd: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), Brazil (1985), Being John Malkovich (1999)
- Goofball: The Jerk (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Wayne's World (1992), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Zoolander (2001)
- Gross-out: Pink Flamingos (1972), Animal House (1978), There's Something About Mary (1998), Bridesmaids (2011)
- Teen: Hairspray (1988), Dazed and Confused (1993), Rushmore (1998), Election (1999), Love Exposure (2011)
- Rom Com: Annie Hall (1977), Say Anything (1989), Chasing Amy (1997), My Sassy Girl (2001), Knocked Up (2007)
- Road: National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
- Mockumentary: This is Spinal Tap (1984), Bob Roberts (1992), Best in Show (2000), Borat (2006), Kenny (2008)
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absurd (adjective): ridiculous, totally unreasonable or impossible - The idea that dogs can read our minds is absurd, Josie.
bad-taste (adjective): deliberately shocking and offensive - Peter made bad-taste films before directing the Lord of the Rings movies.
banter (noun): witty conversation - Can you understand the banter between drinkers at the pub yet?
black comedy (noun): comedy about topics like death, war, illness, etc. - My friends hate black comedies, but I love them.
caper (noun): a comedy about a crime that goes wrong - Is Fargo a typical crime thriller or a black comedy caper?
comedy (noun): a novel, TV show or movie that's meant to make us laugh - We could do with a laugh, so let's watch a comedy.
comical (adjective): strange or silly enough to be funny - It's full of funny characters in comical situations.
cringe (verb): to react to something that's embarrassing or disturbing - When she vomited on her husband, everyone cringed.
farce (noun): a comedy of silly or unlikely events - It's an old-fashioned farce about a wedding that goes wrong.
faux pas (also "gaffe") (noun): something embarrassing that's said or done in a social situation - His worst faux pas was telling the queen a dirty joke.
gag (noun): a witty joke - Thinking up gags for a movie script isn't easy, you know.
goofball comedy (noun): a comedy with a very stupid but funny main character - It's a goofball comedy, so it's OK to laugh.
gross-out (adjective): disgusting enough to make you feel sick - It's a gross-out movie, so your teenage sons will love it.
humour (also "humor") (noun): the quality that makes something seem funny - She's got a good sense of humour, so I'm sure she'll get the joke.
inept (adjective): lacking ability, skill or training - Playing with an inept golfer can be very funny, but you mustn't laugh.
make fun of (verb): to tease, mock or make unkind jokes about someone - Why does your brother always make fun of gay people?
mockumentary (noun): a comedy that looks like a serious documentary - We just saw this really funny arts mockumentary.
poke fun at (verb): to make something or someone look silly - Lots of comedians poke fun at politics and make fun of politicians.
romantic comedy (also "rom com") (noun): a funny love story - My wife loves romantic comedies, but I can't stand them!
ridiculous (adjective): very silly, or unreasonable enough to make people laugh - You can't swim to China. That's a ridiculous idea!
satire (noun): a book, play, movie, etc that uses comedy to criticize something - A good satire can change the way you think.
satirize (verb): to use humour to poke fun at something or someone - I like the way it satirizes lawyers and the legal system.
screwball comedy (noun): a farcical romantic comedy of the 30s or 40s - I've only seen Cary Grant in screwball comedies.
slapstick (noun): comedy based on sight gags - Those Mr Bean movies are full of slapstick comedy.
spoof (noun): a funny parody of a movie genre - Is it a horror movie spoof, or just a funny horror movie?
Western (noun): a cowboy movie about the old American West - There were lots of Westerns on TV when I was a kid.
witty (adjective): clever and funny at the same time - Oscar Wilde was famous for saying witty things.
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