So I Married an Axe Murderer

Honestly, I’ve never watched this movie before, but I have some knowledge of it.

Here’s the trailer for the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yto08I_IiAg

(There was a trailer for when the movie was rereleased on DVD and Blu-ray, but it was more “modern romantic comedy” feel that was almost annoying)

Basically, there’s this guy named Charlie that has trouble settling down with anyone (he keeps finding problems with the girls he dates). When he does start to date a seemingly perfect woman, he begins to suspect that she’s been murdering her husbands.

As you can see in the trailer, the movie has both comedic and suspenseful aspects to it, and I feel like it would be a good fit for the class. Just like in the Beaver Coat, the audience (and some of the characters) suspect the woman of something, but doesn’t have enough evidence to support their suspicions. Another way to work this movie into texts we’ve read is through the causes. Obviously, the material cause is Charlie, but the other causes are less observable from the trailer.

As I stated before, I’ve never watched this movie, so I am nowhere near qualified enough to give this movie justice when trying to promote it, but from the looks of it (and what little information I’ve gathered through the years), it seems like one that would be fun to watch and compare to our texts.

Movie Suggestion - Liar Liar

I suggest that we should watch “Liar Liar” starring Jim Carrey. I have not watched the movie myself but I personally love Jim Carrey for one reason. He is HILARIOUS! But the first thing that attracted me to this movie was the title itself. Among the many plays that we have read, more than half of the plays had some if not many aspects of lies/cheat/deceptions/perjury in them. Some of the plots were even built on lies after lies which caused conflicts and misunderstanding among the characters.

In this movie, the main character Fletcher (Jim Carrey) is a lawyer but he has a habit of giving precedence to his job, breaking promises to his son and his ex-wife Audrey, and then lying about the reasons. Fletcher's compulsive lying has also built him a reputation as one of the best defense lawyers in the state of California as he is climbing the ladder in the firm for which he works.

The most obvious play that could relate to this movie is of course, The Broken Jug. Both the main characters were representatives of the legal field. Their duty was to uphold justice but for different reasons they tell lies to secure their statuses. The Misanthrope also has a tiny aspect of lie when Celimene cheated on Alceste by flirting around behind his back. The Beaver Coat reveals Mrs. Wolff deceptive character towards the people around her by stealing and trying to put the blame on others. The plots were driven by lies which indirectly influenced their respective resolutions.

What if they were all unable to lie? In this movie, Fletcher one day realizes that he is unable to lie, mislead, or even withhold a true answer, which put his career and family relationship at risk. It would be interesting to imagine or discuss how the plots and endings of the plays that we studied would be different if the characters were unable to lie.

Movie Suggestion: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

            Okay! I’ve caught up on watching this movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I’ve been told many times that I’ve been missing out because I didn’t watch this “classic”. Even in the chemistry department, Professor Northrup made a reference to it in one of his questions, and I didn’t get it at the time. Now I get it. Now, I get why it’s awesome.

            There are many trailers on Youtube.com for this film. This link is for the OFFICIAL trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FhL2-KatRE:

This link is for the MODERN version of this movie’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKNDml12Big:

Yes, the official trailer accurately shows how the film was made on a low budget, BUT it's not the props that make this movie. It’s the acting. The modern trailer, on the other hand, is misleading. It makes a first-time viewer believe that this movie is a serious, action film: it’s not. (The modern trailer was probably made by a fan who loves the movie.)

First off it’s a comedy film about King Arthur and his fellow knights trying to find the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is the MacGuffin (the object that organizes/motivates the plot). This film is full of inversions, and it pokes fun of customs and ideas of particular social groups. To top it off, the ending was unpredictable….

***** STOP! DO NOT READ PAST THIS UNLESS YOU WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED FOR YOU. If that doesn’t bother you, proceed.*****

            One of Henri Bergson’s quotes is, “Comic effects are incapable of translation from one language to another, because they refer to the customs and ideas of a particular social group.” In this film, there’s this group called the Knights Who Say Ni. They actually keep sputtering the word “ni” a lot in the film. It is part of this group’s daily language. The word “ni” is foreign to me, and the onomatopoeia from saying it makes me laugh. (I sometimes laugh at funny sounding words… foreign or not.)

            Bergson also said, “The rigidity is the comic, and laughter is its corrective.” For unexpected situations, we may laugh because we had expected something else. Here’s an example. In this film, the knights each go off on their own quest. In Sir Lancelot’s adventure, he finds a letter from someone who is trying to escape a marriage. He thinks it’s a damsel in distress. He goes to save the person, who turns out to be a prince who acts feminine. I laughed because it was supposed to be a princess. Another example would be in the scene with the wooden rabbit. The knights were supposed to hide in the wooden rabbit to enter their enemy’s castle, like the Trojan horse story. However, the knights forget to hide inside. They realize this as the enemy pull’s in their hollow wooden rabbit to the castle.

            Finally, we get to… THE ENDING. I won’t spoil exactly what happens, but it’s similar to the ending in The Beaver Coat in that it was definitely unexpected. The only difference would be that at least the film shows why the storyline ended abruptly. The Beaver Coat and this film had funny scenes but the main conflict was never resolved at the end. Mrs. Wolff wasn’t revealed to the other characters as the criminal mastermind, and King Arthur never got his hands on the Holy Grail. If we watch and analyze this film in class, maybe we can go back to the question of why some storylines like The Beaver Coat and Monty Python and the Holy Grail end abruptly with no resolution.

Ocean's Eleven

Ocean's Eleven stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia and a host of other characters. To summarize the plot, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his old pal Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) hire a team of men, each possessing a criminal specialty, to help them rob a vault that serves three of the largest casinos in Las Vegas. However, Danny has another reason for why he wants to rob these casinos. This reason is because these three casinos are owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) who is married to Ocean's former lover Tess (Julia Roberts). The film is a remake from the 1960 film of the same name starring the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop).
I think that this is a great movie for our class to watch because we can discuss its similarities to The Beaver Coat and possibly The Broken Jug. Some other topics for discussion could be similarities between Danny Ocean and Mrs. Wolff, the question of “Is justice served?” by the end of the film, why does one sympathize with the criminal while watching this film and if not why, the similarities between the supporting characters of the plays and the film, how would someone feel while watching this film if the comedy was completely absent, and could we say this is a “Thief’s Comedy?”

Personally, I think this is one of George Clooney’s best films and, ladies, who does not like George Clooney. The film is not vulgar for all who have a problem with too much foul language and, or nudity. The story is clever, the comedy is smart and witty, and the host of characters is perfect. After all that has been said here, how can one not want to watch this movie?

Movie Suggestion: Christmas Vacation

My suggestion for our movie is Christmas Vacation.

Ok, ok, so I know it's April; nowhere near Christmas.

But this movie can be watched year round! 

For those who haven't seen the movie, it tells the tale of family man Clark Griswold and his plan to have a good ol' fashioned family Christmas. Despite all his efforts, everything starts to go awry, and before you know it, the redneck cousins have shown up, the in-laws are taking over the house, the Christmas tree is burned down, the boss is kidnapped, and SWAT team is in the living room.

The Griswold family reminds me somewhat of the Wolff family. For one thing, they are an average middle class family. They don't really want for anything, but Clark, played by Chevy Chase, just wants a little slice of the good life. He puts a down payment on a pool , but the problem is the family does not have the money and is counting on Clark's Christmas bonus to cover it. However, without warning his employees, the boss has decided to cut the Christmas bonuses this year. The boss also reminds me of Krugeur, in appearance (I pretty much pictured Clark's boss when I read the play) and behavior because of his stinginess. Instead of stealing from the boss, however, Cousin Eddy's misunderstands Clark's comments to mean he want to steal the boss from his home on Christmas Eve. The movie shows the differences between people who have a whole lot and those that are only average.

I feel like the movie is also a comment on society and how wrapped up in the superficial part of Christmas. Everyone gets wrapped up in buying presents and spending a lot of money, when it should really be all about family.

So although it isn't quite Christmas yet, I think that this would be a hysterical movie to watch for entertainment and an interesting movie to try and dissect for the purposes of our class.

 

Movie Suggestion: The Campaign

The Campaign is a classic Will Ferrell movie about a political campaign taking place in North Carolina. The powerful incumbent (played by Ferrell) finds himself in a race against a naïve opponent who could never stand a chance of winning under normal conditions. However, Will Ferrell’s character starts to crack under the pressure and not do as well as he normally would. This is a story of the underdog giving his competitor a run for his money.
 
Once again, I’m going refer to Frye’s quote “comedy is designed not to condemn evil, but to ridicule a lack of self-knowledge” to analyze this movie. The lack of self-knowledge addressed here is the fact that political races can be extremely corrupt. The whole reason there is suddenly someone else in the race is because a large company is trying to take over the district and needs a new pawn to do their bidding. While real life politics are not exactly like this, some truth can be drawn from it. Another aspect that is portrayed is how voters often respond to cheap tricks and sensationalism. During most of their campaigning, they rarely talk about the actual issues. Instead, they try to appeal to the religious views of the voters and try to outdo each other. Outrageous claims are also made about one of them being in cahoots with the Tailban. How many people remember when Obama was running for President the first time and there were concerns raised about his middle name being Hussein? It looks like the movie really isn’t too far-fetched sometimes.

Overall, this movie is hilarious but still teaches some important lessons about politics.

Movie Suggestion: The Birdcage

     I believe we should watch The Birdcage for the movie portion of this class. The Birdcage is a fabulous film from 1996 that tells the story of Robin Williams' character Armand Goldman meeting his future in-laws, Senator and Mrs. Keeley played by Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest. Goldman is a gay cabaret owner, whose partner, Albert, played brilliantly by Nathan Lane, is the star. His son Val, portrayed by Dan Futterman, from a heterosexual fling, informs them that he is engaged to the daughter of the congressional moral crusader Senator Keeley, Barbara, played by Calista Flockhart. Chaos ensues as a methodically planned out dinner falls to pieces, slowly revealing the true identity of the Goldmans. 

     There are dozens of misunderstandings and miscommunications between all the characters as they try to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner for their future in-laws, especially from the Goldmans as they desperately try to hide who they are, as well as their flamboyant lifestyle. I feel like this movie is a hidden gem in regards to brilliant comedies that have come out in the last twenty years, and it certainly relates to this class because it has a tidy resolution, a thematic element that many people in this class value and enjoy, without archetypal characters, just like in "The Beaver Coat," that we have seen throughout the literature for this class. It also shows comic situations where certain individuals put aside their true nature for self preservation, deception, and trying to adhere to acceptable social standards--something that we have seen in "The Misanthrope." There is also a happy ending, which many of the comedies we have read for class seem to present. In conclusion, I believe The Birdcage would be an excellent film to watch for this class because it has multiple comic elements that we can discuss and relate to previous discussions and its off the beaten path as far modern comedies go. 

     In conclusion, I believe The Birdcage would be an excellent film to watch for this class because it has multiple comic elements that we can discuss and relate to previous discussions and its off the beaten path as far modern comedies go. 

Movie Suggestion: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Written as a satire (very) loosely based on the Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is the story of three men who escape imprisonment to hunt for one of the men's (Everett McGill, played by George Clooney) $1.2 million he claimed to have stolen.

I believe one could argue that the film demonstrates the four causes. The primary argument for this being that it is revealed ultimately that Everett lies to the men to get him to join him; the real cause for his escape was to reunite with his wife, who had written him a letter informing him of her decision to remarry. This link is a good example of at least two of the causes and a good example of the movie in general.

It could also be said that there is a sort of green world in the film. It begins almost as soon as the movie does, when the trio escape the chain gang. They come across a blind man on a handcar who accurately predict their future. Over the course of the film they are tempted by sirens, assaulted by a cyclops, and become a musical sensation. The green world fades after the resolution and the blind fortune teller is seen rolling away on his handcar.

Much like The Broken Jug or the collection of plays from the beginning of the semester, it also satires the authorities of the period it is set in. Homer Stokes is a man running for office who is secretly a member of the KKK. “Big Dan” is a Bible salesman who mugs Everett and friends when he believes they have something of value. The sheriff is bent on capturing the three men, and is literally believed to be the devil by one of the main characters.

And finally a smaller scene that is probably one of my favorite comedy things.

Movie Suggestion: Easy A

One of my favourite movies of all time, starring my personal girl-crush Emma Stone, is Easy A. This is the story of a young high school woman who spreads a rumor that she's promiscuous, and gains an inordinate amount of popularity because of it. When things start to spiral out of control, she takes matters into her own hands to clear up everyone's misconceptions.

Bonus: it's hilarious.

(vid: source)

But what does it have to do with our class, and why is it even worth watching?

Lysistrata

In Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the women use their seductive skills to sexually frustrate the men, and the lack of consummation eventually gets the women what they want. Easy A shows echoes of this concept. Olive, the main character, starts to use the rumor working against her to help the less fortunate. She pretends to have sex with them, but for a price.

Well that's the most awkward screencap I've ever seen.

(vid: source)

The Misanthrope

The connection to Molière's The Misanthrope is less about characterization, and more about wordsmithing. The style of writing used in The Misanthrope was downright poetic. In Easy A, there is an obvious love for words among Olive and her family. They delight in language itself, and find a way to turn this delight into something entirely comic.

"Tallywacker?"

(vid: source)

The Venetian Twins

In The Venetian Twins, Goldini used a method called "breaking the fourth wall" that allows the characters to speak directly to the audience. Not only is Easy A broken up into bite-sized segments (or what I would call "acts"), these segment breaks are a direct result of Olive narrating her situation directly to the audience.

YouTube didn't have the scene, so here's a snake in a tiny hat.

(pic: source)

There are a lot of elements to Easy A that relate back to previous texts we've analyzed in class (as seen above). But beyond that, this film masters a tongue-in-cheek humor that is subtle and elevated, and all the more hilarious because of it. Every line is crafted, and if you listen carefully enough, you'll find something to laugh at come every turn.

Movie Suggestion: Borat

           When beginning the process of trying to pick a movie that will aid in the definition of comedy that we have began to develop through the plays and articles that we have read, one observation seemed to stand out.  That observation was that many of the comedies that we have read is making fun of the characters themselves.  In this was many of them are based on satire.  Rather it is a comedy criticizing the justice system as in “The Beaver Coat” or women’s roles as in “Lysistrata”, it is a common theme throughout.  This observation is what led me to suggest the film “Borat” to watch as a class.

            I just recently watched “Borat” and almost felt guilty for giggling at some of the incredibly offensive things that it said.  I can imagine that the audience of many of the plays that we have read may have said the same thing.  In “Lysistrata”, it was humorous to think that women tried to end the war by withholding sex, yet I am a female, and it is almost degrading to think that that is how society viewed women’s power.

            “Borat” holds many of the same satirical elements.  The same element that is so offensive is the element that creates its appeal.  “Borat” criticizes our entire way of living, but does so by making us laugh.  An international man travels around the country, but the people he interacts with do not know exactly what type of movie is being created.  Using this technique, the main character, Borat, gets people to admit to bigotry towards homosexuals and demeaning views of women.  He pretends to have the same views and says outrageously offensive comments that provide the comedy, but reveals exactly what is wrong with America (some would say).  We are laughing as how women are only good for sex due to the ridiculous presentation, but it is common people who are admitting to this.  If the same idea was portrayed in a documentary, people would highly reject it.  Although, this does happen to an extent to the movie “Borat”, it provides many with giggles that the documentary would not. 

            There are many other examples in the movie that would both make your cringe and laugh.  The plays that we have read so far probably caused the same reaction in the audience.  Although, the social topics differ (mainly due to differences in society culture/ morals) the effect is the same. 

Movie Suggestion: Goon

                My movie suggestion is Goon.  To be honest, I passed this movie by for a while on Netflix before I decided to give it a try.  I did not have high expectations for it and it exceeded my expectations by far.  This movie is about Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott), an outcast of his smart family, and how he tries to deal with and overcome being the outcast.

                This movie could be one to study in this class because it follows some of the aspects of Frye’s Argument of Comedy.  To begin the movie we have the comedic character, Doug, who does not fit into his society.  Next, when he tries to become part of the society and show that he can make something of himself he enters the green world.  The green world, in this case, is the world of hockey.  In this part of the movie ridiculous and over the top fights and other scenes happen. Also, he pursues a girl named Eva. In the end of the movie the hockey games are over, Doug ends up with Eva, and we have a comic resolution. 

                The movie may not be the best fit for Frye’s Argument of Comedy, but it definitely has parts that apply.  If this movie is chosen, I am sure there are other connections that can be drawn.  

Movie Suggestion: I Love You, Man

No movie that I've seen fits the bill for our class than I Love You, Man. From a great soundtrack to many instances of fresh taste in what makes us laugh, as well as several awards and nominations, this modern comedy is driven by a serious plot that many have never considered: what would happen if your fiance was afraid you wouldn't have any friends for your upcoming wedding?
This comedy uses a clever reversal to drive the plot: In that the main character, Realtor Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) has always found himself more sociable with women, based on his interests and mannerisms. Overhearing his wife-to-be talking with her friends about she's worried he really won't have any guy-friends for their fast-approaching wedding, he undertakes a mission to find himself a best-friend. The clever reversal is that the movie plays along initially as exactly the opposite of the cliched plot-line: one person dating and trying to find a companion, except that in this case the awkward Peter is in need of some help getting a "man-date." Obviously the major source of comedy, the progression of the plot so differently than what we expect, laughter ensues throughout the whole film.
In addition, much of the humor is subtle, playing the camera work to it's advantage. The excellent acting of Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones, along with appearances from Andy Samberg, as Peter's homosexual brother, and Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) as himself, makes this a clear candidate for a class in which the point is to learn about comedy. To put it simply, this movie uses humor in so many different ways that it allows us to thoroughly cross-examine laughter and comedy as a whole, with a plot (and soundtrack!) that will keep you very interested, and laughing all the way.

Movie Suggestion: Clueless

Watch a movie less fabulous than this one? As if!!!

Clueless is a beautiful hilarious movie about the misadventures of Cher, a popular high school girl. She along with her bestie, Dion, take a new, awkward girl under their wings and try to elevate her to be part of the elite. Here is a trailer for the movie:

This movie can be related to many of the ideas we have discussed in class. First, the movie can be thought to take place in a green world. In this green world, Cher  loses her title of the most popular girl in school and her friend goes after the boy she likes. In the end, of course, all things return to normal and things can continue in the real world. Part of this solution is appropriate pairings. Like in The Venetian Twins, this could not be a truly happy or comedic movie if the couples at the end were wrong. I won't spoil who get with who, but suffice it to say that class statuses are upheld and bad characters do not get with good characters.
Another tie in to class topics (one that I only thought of after this class) is the character Ms. Geist. She is a comedic character in the same way that someone falling over a rug is funny. She is scatter brained, can't keep her stockings tear free, and usually can be found with lipstick smeared on her teeth. I think it would be beneficial to discuss her character in terms of what we have learned in class thus far.
Other topics that could be potentially discussed in class are the use of sex to manipulate characters (Ms. Geist and Mr. Hall) and the comedic archetypes and their respective roles in contributing to the comedic in this movie.

In conclusion, this movie will be easy to make connections to other works in class and has the added bonus of being hilarious.

Movie Suggestion: There's Something About Mary

I watch so many comedies throughout my life I figured picking one for class would be easy.  However, I actually found this task particularly challenging.  There are millions of comedies out there but picking one to apply to our class just perplexed me.  I soon could not remember any movies I had ever watched.  I decided to ask my roommates and the first thing that came to their minds was There’s Something About Mary.

Even though this movie was made in 1998, I had not even heard of it until my freshman year of college (2011) from my roommate.  She was describing the movie to me and all I could think of was how dumb it was going to be.  It seemed immature and silly, but I guess that is partly why it is so funny.  If you’ve never heard of it, instead of me summarizing everything, here is a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGjXwDYpOLE

            This movie connects to our class in a couple of ways. First off it has aspects of romance.  There is a guy chasing a girl the entire movie with what seems to be a futile attempt. However, in the end (SPOILER ALERT) he get’s the girl.  Up until last week with The Beaver Coat, all of the comedies we had read ended with some sort of pairing of individuals in a romantic sense.  Also, one of the reasons the movie is funny is because of how the events occur.  Every action is just so ridiculous and out there that it makes you laugh.  That is true of the majority of the plays we have read as well.  The carnival plays we read were all absurd in the fact that none of them would actually happen.  The actions of Adam in The Broken Jug, the movie version, are similar just because of how rashly he acts.  Also, there is devious behavior throughout the movie.  Multiple men lie and sneak around trying to court Mary, which is once again true of much of what we have read. Overall, when I first heard of this movie, I thought it would be unentertaining, but when I watched it I couldn’t stop laughing.  It will surprise you.