What I find profoundly wonderful about the screwball comedy, the silent comedy, the Tati comedy, is their unapologetic unreality.
Many comedies, as far as I can tell from especially the 1980's onwards (I could very well be wrong about that timeline), cause an Uncanny Valley effect in trying to more closely resemble boring reality whilst still being clearly unrealistic in actuality. Oft they're very dull, resorting to much shallow vulgarity or unlikable, uncharismatic characters.
What perhaps must be realized is that reality is only either hilarious when exaggerated to almost beyond recognition, OR when it is brutally and almost completely UNfiltered (this is usually where very dark or ironic humor can find its place). Romantic comedies, say, are very rarely funny because their whole schtick tends to be built on the idea of tricking people into thinking their scenarios are practically possible. You end up with jokes that are neither relatable, nor perfect enough in their setup-payoff structure to be impressive, nor are they even quite absurd enough to have profound shock value. It is the coward's comedy, a middle ground that might stimulate she who watches mindlessly well enough, but not make any sort of lasting impact on heart or mind.
Palm Beach Story may not be the best screwball film I've seen, but it's a very good one, its unreality utilized well, its absurdity helping rather than hindering its themes, its leading woman queerly likable in her ambition and twisted reasoning.
What I find profoundly wonderful about the screwball comedy, the silent comedy, the Tati comedy, is their unapologetic unreality.
Many comedies, as far as I can tell from especially the 1980's onwards (I could very well be wrong about that timeline), cause an Uncanny Valley effect in trying to more closely resemble boring reality whilst still being clearly unrealistic in actuality. Oft they're very dull, resorting to much shallow vulgarity or unlikable, uncharismatic characters.
What perhaps must be realized is that reality is only either hilarious when exaggerated to almost beyond recognition, OR when it is brutally and almost completely UNfiltered (this is usually where very dark or ironic humor can find its place). Romantic comedies, say, are very rarely funny because their whole schtick tends to be built on the idea of tricking people into thinking their scenarios are practically possible. You end up with jokes that are neither relatable, nor perfect enough in their setup-payoff structure to be impressive, nor are they even quite absurd enough to have profound shock value. It is the coward's comedy, a middle ground that might stimulate she who watches mindlessly well enough, but not make any sort of lasting impact on heart or mind.
Palm Beach Story may not be the best screwball film I've seen, but it's a very good one, its unreality utilized well, its absurdity helping rather than hindering its themes, its leading woman queerly likable in her ambition and twisted reasoning.
