A typical comedy film usually features a basic plot that is designed to make people laugh, as well as also having some kind of underlying message, i.e. friendship. Normally there is some light-hearted, up-beat music playing in the background that helps to emphasise certain situations or to reassure the audience that everything is okay. There are also some stereotypical character types that appear in comedy films. There are: the 'idiots' - the ones that are silly and usually very accident prone; the smart people who are socially awkward and the regular people who can sometimes be sarcastic and accidents happen around them, although they themselves may not be accident prone.
Within the comedy genre there are different themes that can be applied to films. Some of these themes are: slapstick - humour that involves exaggerated physical actions; screwball - humour which is unconventional and behaves in unexpected ways; black or dark comedy - humour that makes light of a serious subject matter and romantic comedy - a film that deals with romance in a light-hearted or comical manner.
Textual analysis of 'Ride Along' (2014)
'Ride Along' is about a security guard called Ben, who is played by Kevin Hart, that must prove himself worthy to his girlfriend's police officer brother James, played by Ice Cube, before asking her to marry him.
The film starts in a room where we see two men sitting at a table talking about a deal. The room is dark and mysterious and around the edges of the room there are men that appear to be gang members or 'body guards' to one of the men sitting at the table. After the deal is made the scene cuts to the two men walking separately through a dark, shadowy market place, shortly before there is a fast-paced gun fight with loud music.
This opening sequence is good because it tells the audience what the film is mostly about; the deal between the two men. It also makes the audience want to know what this deal is about and how it turns out. As well as this, the gun fight also intrigues the audience because we want to know why everything has suddenly changed when in the previous scene things were calm and controlled. Although we can get a sense of what the film is going to be about, not much information is given away from this opening sequence and so the audience are left to question what could happen next.
I think that this opening sequence is good because it grips the audience and makes them want to know more about this deal.
An idea for my own comedy opening sequence - We see a shot of a young man or woman lying in bed and it is clear that they have been out partying the night before. As they wake up they appear confused about the night before, trying to remember what happened. They get out of bed, put on their dressing gown and head for the bedroom door to go downstairs. Once they are downstairs, they look around to see a dozen or so people in their house dressed in animal costumes doing normal everyday activities, e.g. ironing clothes, watching TV, making a cup of tea, reading the newspaper, etc. After showing a look of shock and confusion on the character's face, the film then changes to a flashback of the party from last night.
This opening sequence is good because it tells the audience what the film is mostly about; the deal between the two men. It also makes the audience want to know what this deal is about and how it turns out. As well as this, the gun fight also intrigues the audience because we want to know why everything has suddenly changed when in the previous scene things were calm and controlled. Although we can get a sense of what the film is going to be about, not much information is given away from this opening sequence and so the audience are left to question what could happen next.
I think that this opening sequence is good because it grips the audience and makes them want to know more about this deal.
An idea for my own comedy opening sequence - We see a shot of a young man or woman lying in bed and it is clear that they have been out partying the night before. As they wake up they appear confused about the night before, trying to remember what happened. They get out of bed, put on their dressing gown and head for the bedroom door to go downstairs. Once they are downstairs, they look around to see a dozen or so people in their house dressed in animal costumes doing normal everyday activities, e.g. ironing clothes, watching TV, making a cup of tea, reading the newspaper, etc. After showing a look of shock and confusion on the character's face, the film then changes to a flashback of the party from last night.
Hi Becca, this is a really good blog. You have put a lot of work in to this and I have enjoyed reading all the entries so far. It's great to see you writing up tasks that you have completed and I'm p[lease4d to see you are beginning to adopt the 'little but often' approach. Some good technical skills demonstrated too. Well done.
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