Barbershop (2002)
Dir. Tim Story
Written by Marc Brown
Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve
Eddie: See, in my day, a barber was more than just somebody who sit around in a FUBU shirt with his drawers hanging all out. In my day, a barber was a counselor. He was a fashion expert. A style coach. Pimp. Just general all-around hustler. But the problem with y'all cats today, is that you got no skill. No sense of history. And then, with a straight face, got the nerve to want to be somebody. Want somebody to respect you. But it takes respect to get respect. Understand? See, I'm old. But, Lord willing, I'd be spared the sight of seeing everything that we worked for flushed down the drain by someone who don't know no better or care.
I have to begin by prefacing this piece with the fact that I am biracial. Or maybe multi-racial is a more appropriate term. Why do I have to express this right off the bat? Because the complicated mystory/herstory that descends from my background gifts me with slightly different view than those who don’t have my background. I struggle with my ethnic identity much as I imagine most people do and even though I identify as both “black” and “white” I know intellectually that I don’t fully understand what these terms mean and probably never will. Whewww…glad to get that out of the way, basically I have a love and hate relationship with films that could be termed African-American films; especially comedies where I literally laugh and cringe simultaneously. Al Sharpton had a few things to say about this film because Cedric the Entertainer makes several jokes that denigrate Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Eddie(Cedric): There are three things that Black people need to tell the truth about. Number one: Rodney King should've gotten his ass beat for being drunk in a Honda a white part of Los Angeles. Number two: O.J. did it! And number three: Rosa Parks didn't do nuthin' but sit her Black ass down!
and then the film does question itself as well:
Jimmy: Eddie, not only is what you're saying not true, it is wrong and disrespectful for you to discuss Rosa Parks in that way.
Eddie: Wait, hold on here. Is this a barbershop? Is this a barbershop? If we can't talk straight in a barbershop, then where can we talk straight? We can't talk straight nowhere else. You know, this ain't nothin' but healthy conversation, that's all.
I think the question of “going to far” concerning comedy will be one that forever exists. When does it stop being funny and hint at deeper social issues or does the fact that it has entered the arena of comedy mean that there has been some progress? I don’t know—and I think that these issues are way too big for little old me.
I found an article that wrote about an interview done on CNN with Ice Cube, the main protagonist in the film, he was there to be interviewed as a rapper but what he says speaks to what I’ve written above. He said:
* “In response to a question as to whether or not rap bears any “social message,” Ice Cube was careful to make a distinction between the occasions when rappers were “just having fun” and the times when they were performing a more serious “social message.” His distinction between informal “play” and more formal “message,” he argued, was apparent to the kids who could “tell the difference” even when their parents couldn’t. He defended rap music’s accountability for what is often seen as violent lyrics by comparing the violence of rap to the violence of film representation “[i]n movies like Terminator and Heat,” for example, “where the violence is visually represented.” Ice Cube’s defense implies that, similar to the violence in films, the linguistic violence in rap music should be taken as representation—performance, play, and perhaps even social message all at the same time; a “theatrical” rather than a supposedly objective or mimetic CNN—and that the performance should not be confused with the performer.”
is that they key? Putting “the performance” in it’s place and not confusing it with the performer?
Barbershops are the property of men; they provide a service to men usually performed by men. It is complicated space, essentially no girls aloud so I’ve never actually been inside one. I remember my brothers used to go to one and come back after a relatively short time (from my perspective—sometimes I would literally be at the hairdresser for five to seven hours, many times they broke combs on my curly/frizzy hair) not looking much different than when they went, having the “edges” done and other mysterious things done that I thought was a waste of time and money. My young self didn’t yet understand that it was more a rite or ritual of African-American manhood or boyhood than anything else.
I was trying to think of what kind of Screwball Comedy or even what genre this could be compared to and nothing was coming to mind until I saw the end of the film. It reminded of a Frank Capra movie, actually, it has the comedy along with some melodrama. Although Barbershop has a few PG-13 rated moments it still is about family, doing what is right, and having the right values. The ending of the movie is schmaltzy and reinforces the qualities listed above. Capra was known for these kind of patriotic, about the “common man,” and generally corny and sentimental films. Capra directed two movies that had definite screwball tendencies; the most famous is It Happened One Night, and Arsenic and Old Lace. Barbershop can be compared to Capra’s film because it is a comedy with heart or soul rather, it idealizes nostalgia and the credo that if you work hard you can attain the American Dream, while also saying that if you go the other route you will be unsuccessful.
I don’t have much to say about language in this film. It is mostly composed of insults exchanged back and forth between the barbershop crew. I will end with a quote because I feel ill equipped to write about the complicated issues that arise when talking about African-American Language. Dr. Geneva Smitherman, a linguist and educator, known for her advocacy of African-American English; she has written several books on the history and significance of African-American English.
**“Let’s rap/wrap it up. Docta G has shown that Black folk have always already been pushin the language envelope. Black folk have been fightin on all fronts, the physical, geopolitical, metaphysical, philosophical, aesthetic, religious, political, ideological, psychological, spiritual, symbolic, economic, hermeneutic, academic, linguistic, iconic, and more. Through all of these wars, we have managed to maintain a sense of ethics, humanity, dignity, and sanity. Damn! We talkin bout folk who simply refuse to die. Don’t even talk about givin up! What manner of people DO WE BE? Protean. Always already in struggle, al- ways already beginning some new shit, conceptualizing some new order of things, some other/alternative/unheard of/unimagined/ unexplored reality and mode of being. We bees doin da unthinkable. Must be magical and real. We always pushin. Whether its remaking and reconfiguring some superimposed language, creating musical instruments from some old found object, doctoring up a traditional in- strument, because you know we gotta hear that twang and chromatic sound, or pushin the bounds of what it means to be human and democratic, we up on it, way out in front. Blusing. Bopping. Moving. Rapping. Hip Hopping. Historicizing. Morphing. Always in the process of red-shifting, even when we be down. And, yes, LANGUAGING. We are still in process. What next? Can’t be sho. But I’ll C U when WE get there. As Docta G says, stay tuned”
*Rap's Unruly Body The Postmodern Performance of Black Male Identity on the American Stage by Saddik, Annette J.
TDR: The Drama Review, Volume 47, Number 4 (T 180), Winter 2003, pp. 110-127
** Geneva Smitherman: The Social Ontology of African-American Language, the Power of Nommo, and the Dynamics of Resistance and Identity Through Language by Yancy, George.
The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, New Series, Volume 18, Number 4, 2004, pp. 273-299
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Pillows Singin’?
Pillow Talk (1959)
Dir. Michael Gordon
Written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin
Starring: Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter
Brad Allen: Look, I don't know what's bothering you, but don't take your bedroom problems out on me.
Jan: I have no bedroom problems. There's nothing in my bedroom that bothers me.
Brad Allen: Oh-h-h-h. That's too bad.
Pillow Talk is the quintessential late 50s and 1960s sex comedy. My parents were very strict about what they let us watch when we were youngsters; but this film slid by because even though it is a sex comedy the sex is absent. The motion picture production code was still being enforced but it was losing power and would soon end in 1968. This film was a definite departure from Doris Day’s former movie persona. She was the blond blue-eyed girl next-door and in this film she was the blond blue-eyed career girl next-door.
It is difficult for me the modern-day movie-viewer, desensitized as I am, to look at this film and find it risqué but I did find a bit of trivia that said Rock Hudson turned down the film a few times because it was too risqué for his image. Sex comedies are definitely connected to SC they deal with many of the same elements in similar ways. Marriage, and the pursuit of it is still a major theme and is the goal of those of the female persuasion. I am surprised that this is still the goal in all romantic comedies whether it is explicit or implicit.
Alma: If there's anything worse than a woman living alone, it's a woman saying she likes it.
“Talk” or dialogue is the mainstay of Pillow Talk; this is definitely a battle of the sexes theme and a lot of the film’s dialogue is a back and forth between the main protagonists Jan (Day) and Brad (Hudson). I noticed that Doris Day’s dialogue about sex is only sung. She sings the title song “Pillow Talk”:
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of hearin' myself talk, talk, talk, talk
Wonder how it would be to have someone to pillow talk with me
I wonder how
I wonder who
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of bein' alone with pillow talk
When it's all said and done, two heads together can be better than one
That's what they say
They always say
All I do is talk to my pillow
Talk to my pillow, talk to my pillow
All I do is talk to my pillow
Talk about the boy I'm gonna marry someday
Somehow, some way, sometime
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of gettin' my fill of pillow talk
You and I both agree there must be a boy, must be a pillow
Must be a pillow-talkin' boy for me
I hope I'm right
I'd better be right…
and then on the road-when Brad and Jan are escaping to the country for a weekend she sings to herself a song titled:
“Possess Me”
Hold me tight, and kiss me right, I’m yours tonight.
My darling, possess me.
Tenderly, and breathlessly, make love to me, my darling, possess me."…
Much scholarship has been done on the image and idea of Doris Day as a virginal figure and thinking back myself on the films I’ve seen of her this is not true. In fact in another pairing of Rock Hudson and Doris Day she has a baby out of wedlock. So, why does this idea still permeate popular culture, it might be because she never explicitly deals with sex. Either she is made a sex object by her potential partner or she modestly sings the songs above and renders them neutral by context or vicinity? Singing these lines instead of saying them turns them into submissive and passive statements. This is one way that Day doesn’t fully fit the bill of a true SC female protagonist. Can you imagine Hildy Johnson singing to Walter Burns in His Girl Friday? It definitely would have changed the flow and dynamics of the screwball genre if they added singing to them.
Dir. Michael Gordon
Written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin
Starring: Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter
Brad Allen: Look, I don't know what's bothering you, but don't take your bedroom problems out on me.
Jan: I have no bedroom problems. There's nothing in my bedroom that bothers me.
Brad Allen: Oh-h-h-h. That's too bad.
Pillow Talk is the quintessential late 50s and 1960s sex comedy. My parents were very strict about what they let us watch when we were youngsters; but this film slid by because even though it is a sex comedy the sex is absent. The motion picture production code was still being enforced but it was losing power and would soon end in 1968. This film was a definite departure from Doris Day’s former movie persona. She was the blond blue-eyed girl next-door and in this film she was the blond blue-eyed career girl next-door.
It is difficult for me the modern-day movie-viewer, desensitized as I am, to look at this film and find it risqué but I did find a bit of trivia that said Rock Hudson turned down the film a few times because it was too risqué for his image. Sex comedies are definitely connected to SC they deal with many of the same elements in similar ways. Marriage, and the pursuit of it is still a major theme and is the goal of those of the female persuasion. I am surprised that this is still the goal in all romantic comedies whether it is explicit or implicit.
Alma: If there's anything worse than a woman living alone, it's a woman saying she likes it.
“Talk” or dialogue is the mainstay of Pillow Talk; this is definitely a battle of the sexes theme and a lot of the film’s dialogue is a back and forth between the main protagonists Jan (Day) and Brad (Hudson). I noticed that Doris Day’s dialogue about sex is only sung. She sings the title song “Pillow Talk”:
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of hearin' myself talk, talk, talk, talk
Wonder how it would be to have someone to pillow talk with me
I wonder how
I wonder who
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of bein' alone with pillow talk
When it's all said and done, two heads together can be better than one
That's what they say
They always say
All I do is talk to my pillow
Talk to my pillow, talk to my pillow
All I do is talk to my pillow
Talk about the boy I'm gonna marry someday
Somehow, some way, sometime
Pillow talk, pillow talk
Another night of gettin' my fill of pillow talk
You and I both agree there must be a boy, must be a pillow
Must be a pillow-talkin' boy for me
I hope I'm right
I'd better be right…
and then on the road-when Brad and Jan are escaping to the country for a weekend she sings to herself a song titled:
“Possess Me”
Hold me tight, and kiss me right, I’m yours tonight.
My darling, possess me.
Tenderly, and breathlessly, make love to me, my darling, possess me."…
Much scholarship has been done on the image and idea of Doris Day as a virginal figure and thinking back myself on the films I’ve seen of her this is not true. In fact in another pairing of Rock Hudson and Doris Day she has a baby out of wedlock. So, why does this idea still permeate popular culture, it might be because she never explicitly deals with sex. Either she is made a sex object by her potential partner or she modestly sings the songs above and renders them neutral by context or vicinity? Singing these lines instead of saying them turns them into submissive and passive statements. This is one way that Day doesn’t fully fit the bill of a true SC female protagonist. Can you imagine Hildy Johnson singing to Walter Burns in His Girl Friday? It definitely would have changed the flow and dynamics of the screwball genre if they added singing to them.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
F-ing Wishful Thinking
*post might have some rated R language
Seth: He is the sweetest guy. Have you ever looked into his eyes? It was like the first time I heard the Beatles.
Superbad (2007)
Dir: Greg Mottola
Written by: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Cursing, swearing, vulgarities, blue language, [pardon my] French, etc.
“…swearing has a number of distinct functions. In some of these, swearing is an utterance of it’s own, such as for examples exclamations of anger, surprise like Bloody Hell!, unfriendly suggestions like Go to Hell!, or curses like Damn you! In other functions the swearing expressions are part of an utterance for example bloody, like hell, and the devil as in It was bloody difficult, We ran like hell and What the Devil do you mean?” (Ljung xi)
Well--what is the function of swearing in Superbad? I wasn’t allowed to curse growing up, only in college these last couple of years have I learned to appreciate the cleansing quality of a high-quality expletive. Previously, I believed that swearing was the unimaginative persons tool. Superbad has the most inventive uses of taboo words that I have ever come across. And unlike other films where I thought that the swearing was superfluous it works in the film. I found a Wikipedia page that track the number of f-words in films and they said that it was said 176 times in the film—not surprising. In the last blog post about Superbad I track how many times they used some variation of the word vagina 23, I think, and later I tracked how many times they said penis or balls or variants of them around 65. But what does that mean? I don’t know I think I need to watch more Bromances in order to study language uses and gender as well as sexuality in these singular films. *an aside is the weird male fascination with vomiting—I just don’t get it –shuddering-.
Not surprisingly, not a lot of academic scholarship has been done on the film genre jokingly referred to as Bromance; actually there are none that I could find. It really has only been a few years that the term “bro” and “romance” merged. There is now a plethora of new terms and words that are use to describe the unlikely couples in these films.
➢ mandate (when two heterosexual males go on a date)
➢ bromantics (the particular branch of romance that is shown in a Bromance film)
➢ mangina (an insult)
…just to list a few, it’s pretty safe to say that if you add “bro” or “man” as prefix you can create a large and funny vocabulary.
How can I align Superbad or other Bromantic Comedies with other better, classic, iconic screwball films like His Girl Friday? Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a neo-screwball. The circumstances surrounding, the culture that created them no longer exists in the same form. I do believe that certain elements have integrated into pre-existing and new genres. That is why I can say with some certainty that I believe a close approximation of a classic screwball male/female couple exists within the Bromance with a male/male pairing.
Seth: I just wanna go to the rooftops and scream, "I love my best friend, Evan."
Evan: Let's... go on my roof.
Seth: [whispers] For sure
.
Many of these films have very strong homophobic elements that is maybe a case of the lady doth protest too much? Beneath the search for a female sex companion in most of these films is the true friendship between male characters. Seth(Hill) and Evan(Cera) are really perfect for each other. Instead of a traditional battle between different sexes it is a battle between the same sex.
These films have the narrative trajectory of a romantic comedy, just with two males as the actual “couple”, interspersed with gross-out comedy elements. Another reason that these “couples” resemble classic SC is that there will be no consummation of their “love,” similar to films produced during the enforcement of the production code. I’m not sure what kind of kind is being enforced by the men in these films?
INT. EVAN'S BASEMENT - NIGHT
Seth and Evan are lying in sleeping bags beside one another.
SETH
I can't believe she said that shit.
EVAN
Oh my lord. You have no idea!
They laugh harder.
EVAN (CONT'D)
And then you saved me, man! I fucking
love you!
SETH
I fucking love you, too, man! I'm not
embarrassed, I just love you!
EVAN
Why don't we say that more? It feels
good! I love you more than my brother,
man. Like, when you went away for Easter
last year, I, like, missed you. You know?
SETH
I missed you, too. Come here, man.
Seth grabs Evan and they hug.
SETH (CONT'D)
We'll always be friends. `Cause we love
each other.
The phrase that epitomizes these films is “I Love You, Man”. The verbal equivalent of those awkward one-armed hugs that men exchange. The right thought is behind them but they are tripped up by the fear of appearing to be punks or homosexuals. The portion of dialogue above is at the end of the movie; both Evan and Seth are drunk and that is the reason why they are professing their “love” in such a straight forward manner.
This blog is going to continue in some form far into the future as I have plans to write a book about Bromance films. So keep an eye out for that in the future.
Seth: He is the sweetest guy. Have you ever looked into his eyes? It was like the first time I heard the Beatles.
Superbad (2007)
Dir: Greg Mottola
Written by: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Cursing, swearing, vulgarities, blue language, [pardon my] French, etc.
“…swearing has a number of distinct functions. In some of these, swearing is an utterance of it’s own, such as for examples exclamations of anger, surprise like Bloody Hell!, unfriendly suggestions like Go to Hell!, or curses like Damn you! In other functions the swearing expressions are part of an utterance for example bloody, like hell, and the devil as in It was bloody difficult, We ran like hell and What the Devil do you mean?” (Ljung xi)
Well--what is the function of swearing in Superbad? I wasn’t allowed to curse growing up, only in college these last couple of years have I learned to appreciate the cleansing quality of a high-quality expletive. Previously, I believed that swearing was the unimaginative persons tool. Superbad has the most inventive uses of taboo words that I have ever come across. And unlike other films where I thought that the swearing was superfluous it works in the film. I found a Wikipedia page that track the number of f-words in films and they said that it was said 176 times in the film—not surprising. In the last blog post about Superbad I track how many times they used some variation of the word vagina 23, I think, and later I tracked how many times they said penis or balls or variants of them around 65. But what does that mean? I don’t know I think I need to watch more Bromances in order to study language uses and gender as well as sexuality in these singular films. *an aside is the weird male fascination with vomiting—I just don’t get it –shuddering-.
Not surprisingly, not a lot of academic scholarship has been done on the film genre jokingly referred to as Bromance; actually there are none that I could find. It really has only been a few years that the term “bro” and “romance” merged. There is now a plethora of new terms and words that are use to describe the unlikely couples in these films.
➢ mandate (when two heterosexual males go on a date)
➢ bromantics (the particular branch of romance that is shown in a Bromance film)
➢ mangina (an insult)
…just to list a few, it’s pretty safe to say that if you add “bro” or “man” as prefix you can create a large and funny vocabulary.
How can I align Superbad or other Bromantic Comedies with other better, classic, iconic screwball films like His Girl Friday? Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a neo-screwball. The circumstances surrounding, the culture that created them no longer exists in the same form. I do believe that certain elements have integrated into pre-existing and new genres. That is why I can say with some certainty that I believe a close approximation of a classic screwball male/female couple exists within the Bromance with a male/male pairing.
Seth: I just wanna go to the rooftops and scream, "I love my best friend, Evan."
Evan: Let's... go on my roof.
Seth: [whispers] For sure
.
Many of these films have very strong homophobic elements that is maybe a case of the lady doth protest too much? Beneath the search for a female sex companion in most of these films is the true friendship between male characters. Seth(Hill) and Evan(Cera) are really perfect for each other. Instead of a traditional battle between different sexes it is a battle between the same sex.
These films have the narrative trajectory of a romantic comedy, just with two males as the actual “couple”, interspersed with gross-out comedy elements. Another reason that these “couples” resemble classic SC is that there will be no consummation of their “love,” similar to films produced during the enforcement of the production code. I’m not sure what kind of kind is being enforced by the men in these films?
INT. EVAN'S BASEMENT - NIGHT
Seth and Evan are lying in sleeping bags beside one another.
SETH
I can't believe she said that shit.
EVAN
Oh my lord. You have no idea!
They laugh harder.
EVAN (CONT'D)
And then you saved me, man! I fucking
love you!
SETH
I fucking love you, too, man! I'm not
embarrassed, I just love you!
EVAN
Why don't we say that more? It feels
good! I love you more than my brother,
man. Like, when you went away for Easter
last year, I, like, missed you. You know?
SETH
I missed you, too. Come here, man.
Seth grabs Evan and they hug.
SETH (CONT'D)
We'll always be friends. `Cause we love
each other.
The phrase that epitomizes these films is “I Love You, Man”. The verbal equivalent of those awkward one-armed hugs that men exchange. The right thought is behind them but they are tripped up by the fear of appearing to be punks or homosexuals. The portion of dialogue above is at the end of the movie; both Evan and Seth are drunk and that is the reason why they are professing their “love” in such a straight forward manner.
This blog is going to continue in some form far into the future as I have plans to write a book about Bromance films. So keep an eye out for that in the future.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Screwy Ain't It!: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Screwy Ain't It!: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm: "It’s Not What You Say It’s How You Say It Young Frankenstein (1974) Dir. Mel Brooks Written by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks Starring: Gene Wi..."
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
It’s Not What You Say It’s How You Say It
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Dir. Mel Brooks
Written by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks
Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn Cloris Leachman
Young Frankenstein, like all of Mel Brooks’ films, is many things. Firstly, a comedy, but it also touches upon different genres such as: satire, parody, homage…but more to the point could it be considered a Screwball?
This is the second Mel Brooks film that I have ever seen. The first that I saw this past summer was High Anxiety, a parody of suspense films—especially Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It was funny—but not laugh out loud funny. YF took a while to grow on me but now I love it. I’ve also seen Blazing Saddles recently which I have to say was difficult to watch. I know that it was a satire but the number of n-words bandied about so casually threw me for a loop. Brooks has, what I would term a heavy-handed approach to humor. It slaps you in the face and punches you in the stomach. Both Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder wrote this film, so it is a little subtler in some ways than a pure Brooks’ film.
Another descriptive term that I would use would be deliberate, every word and movement is formulated to get the most absurdity out of it possible. This film is a parody of the old black and white monster movies so the pace of the film’s dialogue is rather slow. Gene Wilder has a singular way of expressing himself, he uses leisurely and measured tones interspersed with outbursts that come out of nowhere as his comedic markers.
YF is chock full of sight gags and verbal gags; every scene is full of jokes, jests, witticisms, quips, puns, double entendres; practical jokes, stunts, larks; informal cracks, wisecracks, and one-liners—you get the jist. Accents are especially important: added “zes” and “unds” along with a few German words for good measure are added to the mix for optimum comedic effect.
Upon the fifth or sixth viewing I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not a screwball. It is too many things to be considered a neo-screwball. Mel Brooks’ films taken as whole are screwy, definitely, but they are in a different comedy bracket—more of a pastiche. When compared to a film such as His Girl Friday YF’s dialogue is hysterical but the delivery is so different.
Women are not very important in this film, which is another reason why it can’t compare to other Screwball comedies. There are couplings and love triangles and inevitable marriages but this film is more about the individual gags then the narrative as a whole. This film definitely has some Bromance elements that I could potentially explore but that topic is for another day and another blog. On the surface this film has some of the tropes of classic screwball such as:
Ø Marriage (in some way shape or form, e.g. couple getting divorced, married, or re- married)
Ø Verbal gymnastics or sparring
Ø Physical Comedy (not required)
but overall it does not use them in the way that a Screwball film does.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Dir. Mel Brooks
Written by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks
Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn Cloris Leachman
Young Frankenstein, like all of Mel Brooks’ films, is many things. Firstly, a comedy, but it also touches upon different genres such as: satire, parody, homage…but more to the point could it be considered a Screwball?
This is the second Mel Brooks film that I have ever seen. The first that I saw this past summer was High Anxiety, a parody of suspense films—especially Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It was funny—but not laugh out loud funny. YF took a while to grow on me but now I love it. I’ve also seen Blazing Saddles recently which I have to say was difficult to watch. I know that it was a satire but the number of n-words bandied about so casually threw me for a loop. Brooks has, what I would term a heavy-handed approach to humor. It slaps you in the face and punches you in the stomach. Both Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder wrote this film, so it is a little subtler in some ways than a pure Brooks’ film.
Another descriptive term that I would use would be deliberate, every word and movement is formulated to get the most absurdity out of it possible. This film is a parody of the old black and white monster movies so the pace of the film’s dialogue is rather slow. Gene Wilder has a singular way of expressing himself, he uses leisurely and measured tones interspersed with outbursts that come out of nowhere as his comedic markers.
YF is chock full of sight gags and verbal gags; every scene is full of jokes, jests, witticisms, quips, puns, double entendres; practical jokes, stunts, larks; informal cracks, wisecracks, and one-liners—you get the jist. Accents are especially important: added “zes” and “unds” along with a few German words for good measure are added to the mix for optimum comedic effect.
Upon the fifth or sixth viewing I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not a screwball. It is too many things to be considered a neo-screwball. Mel Brooks’ films taken as whole are screwy, definitely, but they are in a different comedy bracket—more of a pastiche. When compared to a film such as His Girl Friday YF’s dialogue is hysterical but the delivery is so different.
Women are not very important in this film, which is another reason why it can’t compare to other Screwball comedies. There are couplings and love triangles and inevitable marriages but this film is more about the individual gags then the narrative as a whole. This film definitely has some Bromance elements that I could potentially explore but that topic is for another day and another blog. On the surface this film has some of the tropes of classic screwball such as:
Ø Marriage (in some way shape or form, e.g. couple getting divorced, married, or re- married)
Ø Verbal gymnastics or sparring
Ø Physical Comedy (not required)
but overall it does not use them in the way that a Screwball film does.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Hip Lingo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(soundtrack)
Juno (2007)
Dir. Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
The whole cast is talented and everyone shines in their individual roles. Comparable to His Girl Friday, there is the main triangle of protagonists that shifts, and then the rest is a sort of ensemble cast. Some films main protagonist hog all of the good lines, I like films that can share the good stuff with everyone. Ensemble casts Rule!
Rollo (Rainn Wilson): So what's the prognosis, Fertile Myrtle? Minus or plus?
Juno MacGuff: I don't know. It's not seasoned yet.
[grabs products]
Juno MacGuff: I'll take some of these. Nope... There it is. The little pink plus sign is so unholy.
[shakes pregnancy tester]
Rollo: That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, Homeskillet.
Comedies are sometimes tragedies in disguise with funnier dialogue. This is certainly true of Juno—serious issues are handled in a quirky manner that may seem light-hearted at first but its discourse is teen pregnancy and loss of innocence.
Leah: Yo Yo Yiggady Yo.
Juno MacGuff: I'm at suicide risk.
Leah: Juno?
Juno MacGuff: No, it's Morgan Freeman. Do you have any bones that need collecting?
Leah: Only the one in my pants...
Juno MacGuff: I'm pregnant.
Leah: What? Honest to blog?
Juno MacGuff: Yeah. Yeah, it's Bleekers.
Leah: It's probably just a food baby. Did you have a big lunch?
Juno MacGuff: No, this is not a food baby all right? I've taken like three pregnancy tests, and I'm forshizz up the spout.
Leah: How did you even generate enough pee for three pregnancy tests? That's amazing...
Juno MacGuff: I don't know, I drank like, ten tons of Sunny D... Anyway dude, I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly cavalier.
Leah: Is this for real? Like, for real for real?
Juno MacGuff: Unfortunately, yes.
Leah: Oh my GOD. Oh shit! Phuket, Thailand!
Juno MacGuff: There we go. That was kind of the emotion that I was searching for on the first take.
Stereotypically there are a lot of “likes” thrown in to Juno’s dialogue. Otherwise her dialogue is atypical, I’m pretty sure teenagers do not typically banter in Junoesque fashion. Juno is the main protagonist in this film and exchanges delightful dialogue with everyone she comes into contact with: her baby daddy, potential adopted parents of her baby, and her parents, even the clerk at the corner store where she gets her pregnancy tests at the beginning of the film. A single screwball couple doesn’t exist there are many with Juno at the center of each one.
How does a film manage to be innocent and irreverent at the same time? Elementary my dear Watson, it’s in the content of the words and the deadpan delivery. You are almost convinced that these people exist in the real world somewhere firing one-liners at each other indefinitely. One reason this film works is because it takes something, teen pregnancy, which is usually milked (no pun intended) for emotional pull, and deals with it humanely and doesn’t resort to histrionic or melodramatic plot lines.
[at Juno's ultrasound]
Leah: Whoa! Check out Baby Big Head. Dude, that thing is freaky lookin'.
Juno MacGuff: Excuse me. I am a sacred vessel, alright? All you've got in your stomach is Taco Bell.
Another is the conspicuous lack of cussing, there are a few well-placed sh%ts, and instead there are some great stand-ins such as:
Bren: When you move out I'm getting two Weimaraners!
Juno MacGuff: WHOA DREAM BIG!
Bren: Oh, go fly a kite!
Juno MacGuff: [dog barking] Geez, Banana! Shut your freakin' gob!
Regarding pace in the movie, it doesn’t seem that fast but it is wordy and filled with references that are indie-specific it is youth culture oriented but not mainstream. There are no references to any social media and as a result also absent is internet-era initialisms like LOL and OMG, Thanks be to God. It is difficult to write about the dichotomous discourses that highlight the age differences and class differences in the film. Juno is often the figure who leaves other characters in the dust with her youthful conversation stylings.
(One of Juno’s interactions with her Dad)
Juno MacGuff: I'm just like losing my faith with humanity.
Mac MacGuff: Can you can narrow that down for me?
Juno MacGuff: I just wonder if like, two people can ever stay together for good.
Mac MacGuff: You mean like couples?
Juno MacGuff: Yeah, like people in love.
Mac MacGuff: Are you having boy troubles? Because I gotta be honest with you; I don't much approve of dating in your condition, 'cause well... that's kind of messed up.
Juno MacGuff: Dad, no!
Mac MacGuff: Well, it's kind of skanky. Isn't that what you girls call it? Skanky? Skeevy?
Juno MacGuff: Please stop.
Mac MacGuff: [persisting] Tore up from the floor up?
Juno MacGuff: That's not what it's about. I just need to know that it's possible that two people can stay happy together forever.
Mac MacGuff: Well, it's not easy, that's for sure. Now, I may not have the best track record in the world, but I have been with your stepmother for 10 years now and I'm proud to say that we're very happy.
[Juno nods]
Mac MacGuff: Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.
Juno MacGuff: Yeah. And I think I've found that person.
Mac MacGuff: Yeah sure you have - your old D-A-D! You know I'll always be there to love you and support you no matter what kind of pickle you're in... Obviously.
[nods to her belly]
Juno MacGuff: Dad, I think I'm just going to, like, shove out for a sec, but I won't be home late.
Mac MacGuff: Ok. You were talking about me right?
(One of Juno’s interactions with potential adoptive parents—Mark & Vanessa)
Vanessa Loring: You think you're really going to do this?
Juno MacGuff: Yea, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter.
Vanessa Loring: That's great.
Mark Loring: Keep it in the oven.
&
Mac MacGuff: And this, of course, is Juno.
Mark Loring: Like the city in Alaska?
Juno MacGuff: No.
Mark Loring: No? Hon, shall we sit down and get to know one another?
Vanessa Loring: Oh, I thought I would get some drinks. What would anyone like? I have Pellegrino, or Vitamin Water or Orange Juice or...
Juno MacGuff: I'll have a Maker's Mark, please. Up.
Mac MacGuff: She's kidding. Junebug has a wonderful sense of humor. Just one of her many genetic gifts.
Closing thoughts:
This is one of those films that immediately sprang to mind when trying to come up with a list of possible neo-screwball comedies. And I stand strong in saying that yes it is a neo-SC. It has all the ingredients; shifting triadic structures, snappy and smart dialogue, and some romance thrown in as well.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hilarious blog about 10 Bromances if they were redone with female leads... I wish.
http://blog.moviefone.com/2009/11/12/bromances-with-cameron-diaz-kate-hudson/
10 Bromances Re-Imagined With Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson
By Marina Zogbi
Posted Nov 12th 2009 5:00PM
While raunchy, outrageous comedies starring women aren't exactly unheard of (well, there was 'The Sweetest Thing'), funny female flicks tend to be a tad tamer than your typical wacked-out bromance.
We all know that women can be almost as crazed and desperate as the next guy, so we'd like to see a few films that reflect this reality. The upcoming 'Desperados,' starring Isla Fisher, is being billed as a female 'Hangover,' and thus seems to be a step in the right direction.
Here are some other popular bromantic comedies as Hollywood might rework them with female leads. And who better to star in most of them than Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, who not only possess the requisite screwball chops, but are also really cute? (We're are talking Hollywood here).
While raunchy, outrageous comedies starring women aren't exactly unheard of (well, there was 'The Sweetest Thing'), funny female flicks tend to be a tad tamer than your typical wacked-out bromance.
We all know that women can be almost as crazed and desperate as the next guy, so we'd like to see a few films that reflect this reality. The upcoming 'Desperados,' starring Isla Fisher, is being billed as a female 'Hangover,' and thus seems to be a step in the right direction.
Here are some other popular bromantic comedies as Hollywood might rework them with female leads. And who better to star in most of them than Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, who not only possess the requisite screwball chops, but are also really cute? (We're are talking Hollywood here).
'The 30-Year-Old Virgin'
Diaz -- in 'Being John Malkovich' mode -- is a goodhearted department store saleswoman whose more sexually experienced yet unfulfilled female co-workers cook up various schemes to get her laid already. Includes hilarious bikini waxing scene and a creepy floor manager who offers his services (Rainn Wilson). Diaz's character finally finds sex -- and true love -- with a shy customer who happens to be a cool, divorced dad (Paul Rudd).
'The Wedding Hijackers'
Diaz and Hudson are two romantic/delusional single women who impersonate wedding planners and charm/force couples into throwing weddings based on the wacky duo's own twisted fantasies. After many mishaps and a few tears, they find love with two equally romantic/delusional groomsmen (Bradley Cooper and Owen Wilson).
'Superhot'
Kat Dennings (who gains 20 pounds for the role) and Ari Graynor play two high school losers who are invited to a blowout the last day of senior year by a popular jock classmate (Zac Efron). The girls' even geekier friend (Ellen Page with prosthetic dentures) uses the name Fluffy Kitaen to buy booze for the party. Amazingly she winds up scoring the most male attention. Ultimately the Dennings and Graynor characters realize that their friendship is more important than hotties like Efron. (Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson play party-busting cops.)
'Pomegranate Express'
Hudson and Diaz play a neurotic, New Age health fanatic and her equally neurotic herbal remedy guru. After they get high on a super-potent blend of Valerian tea with pomegranate infusion, the Hudson character accidentally witnesses the guru's supplier cutting the Valerian with Lipton tea. The duo become fugitives from an international health-food cartel.
'Super Models'
Diaz and Hudson are two fashion models who must do 100 hours of community service in a Big Sister program after mauling a photographer who said they looked fat during a shoot. Assigned a depressed, anorexic kid and cheerful, chubby inner-city teen, they learn a lot about life and healthy body image.
'Ingrid and Ludmila go to Whole Foods'
Multicultural friends Diaz and Hudson (of Swedish and Russian descent, respectively) get the munchies one night and embark on a mishap-filled journey to the nearest Whole Foods. Cameo by Neil Patrick Harris as foulmouthed womanizer who tries to pick them up. Much humor involving defying stereotypes about Scandinavians and Eastern Europeans.
'Salesclerks'
Low-budget talky film about one day in the life of clothing store salesclerk (Hudson) who is called into work on her day off, and of her buddy (Diaz) who works in the nail salon next door. They visit each other's workplaces and mock customers, discuss their favorite reality TV shows, and wind up doing Power Yoga on the roof.
'Knocked Up'
Katherine Heigl is a sloppy, immature (but goodhearted) party girl who has a one night stand with slick, successful TV executive (Seth Rogen). She gets pregnant and has no desire to either contact him or keep the baby, but he finds out and talks her into having the child, despite the harping of his brother and sister-in-law (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann). Includes hilarious scene in gynecologist's office with Heigl character's freaked-out female friends (Diaz and Hudson).
'Step Sisters'
Diaz and Hudson play two super-competitive, high-level executives who've lost their jobs due to the recession and are forced to live at home with their parents. When Diaz's mom and Hudson's dad get hitched, the two must learn to share bunkbeds and get along.
'I Hate You, Woman'
A recently engaged woman (Hudson) with an overabundance of friends begins ceremoniously 'breaking up' with them as she struggles to narrow down her wedding party. When she winds up virtually friendless and too emotionally dependent on her fiance, she realizes the error of her ways and mends fences, opting for city hall nuptials.
10 Bromances Re-Imagined With Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson
By Marina Zogbi
Posted Nov 12th 2009 5:00PM
While raunchy, outrageous comedies starring women aren't exactly unheard of (well, there was 'The Sweetest Thing'), funny female flicks tend to be a tad tamer than your typical wacked-out bromance.
We all know that women can be almost as crazed and desperate as the next guy, so we'd like to see a few films that reflect this reality. The upcoming 'Desperados,' starring Isla Fisher, is being billed as a female 'Hangover,' and thus seems to be a step in the right direction.
Here are some other popular bromantic comedies as Hollywood might rework them with female leads. And who better to star in most of them than Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, who not only possess the requisite screwball chops, but are also really cute? (We're are talking Hollywood here).
While raunchy, outrageous comedies starring women aren't exactly unheard of (well, there was 'The Sweetest Thing'), funny female flicks tend to be a tad tamer than your typical wacked-out bromance.
We all know that women can be almost as crazed and desperate as the next guy, so we'd like to see a few films that reflect this reality. The upcoming 'Desperados,' starring Isla Fisher, is being billed as a female 'Hangover,' and thus seems to be a step in the right direction.
Here are some other popular bromantic comedies as Hollywood might rework them with female leads. And who better to star in most of them than Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, who not only possess the requisite screwball chops, but are also really cute? (We're are talking Hollywood here).
'The 30-Year-Old Virgin'
Diaz -- in 'Being John Malkovich' mode -- is a goodhearted department store saleswoman whose more sexually experienced yet unfulfilled female co-workers cook up various schemes to get her laid already. Includes hilarious bikini waxing scene and a creepy floor manager who offers his services (Rainn Wilson). Diaz's character finally finds sex -- and true love -- with a shy customer who happens to be a cool, divorced dad (Paul Rudd).
'The Wedding Hijackers'
Diaz and Hudson are two romantic/delusional single women who impersonate wedding planners and charm/force couples into throwing weddings based on the wacky duo's own twisted fantasies. After many mishaps and a few tears, they find love with two equally romantic/delusional groomsmen (Bradley Cooper and Owen Wilson).
'Superhot'
Kat Dennings (who gains 20 pounds for the role) and Ari Graynor play two high school losers who are invited to a blowout the last day of senior year by a popular jock classmate (Zac Efron). The girls' even geekier friend (Ellen Page with prosthetic dentures) uses the name Fluffy Kitaen to buy booze for the party. Amazingly she winds up scoring the most male attention. Ultimately the Dennings and Graynor characters realize that their friendship is more important than hotties like Efron. (Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson play party-busting cops.)
'Pomegranate Express'
Hudson and Diaz play a neurotic, New Age health fanatic and her equally neurotic herbal remedy guru. After they get high on a super-potent blend of Valerian tea with pomegranate infusion, the Hudson character accidentally witnesses the guru's supplier cutting the Valerian with Lipton tea. The duo become fugitives from an international health-food cartel.
'Super Models'
Diaz and Hudson are two fashion models who must do 100 hours of community service in a Big Sister program after mauling a photographer who said they looked fat during a shoot. Assigned a depressed, anorexic kid and cheerful, chubby inner-city teen, they learn a lot about life and healthy body image.
'Ingrid and Ludmila go to Whole Foods'
Multicultural friends Diaz and Hudson (of Swedish and Russian descent, respectively) get the munchies one night and embark on a mishap-filled journey to the nearest Whole Foods. Cameo by Neil Patrick Harris as foulmouthed womanizer who tries to pick them up. Much humor involving defying stereotypes about Scandinavians and Eastern Europeans.
'Salesclerks'
Low-budget talky film about one day in the life of clothing store salesclerk (Hudson) who is called into work on her day off, and of her buddy (Diaz) who works in the nail salon next door. They visit each other's workplaces and mock customers, discuss their favorite reality TV shows, and wind up doing Power Yoga on the roof.
'Knocked Up'
Katherine Heigl is a sloppy, immature (but goodhearted) party girl who has a one night stand with slick, successful TV executive (Seth Rogen). She gets pregnant and has no desire to either contact him or keep the baby, but he finds out and talks her into having the child, despite the harping of his brother and sister-in-law (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann). Includes hilarious scene in gynecologist's office with Heigl character's freaked-out female friends (Diaz and Hudson).
'Step Sisters'
Diaz and Hudson play two super-competitive, high-level executives who've lost their jobs due to the recession and are forced to live at home with their parents. When Diaz's mom and Hudson's dad get hitched, the two must learn to share bunkbeds and get along.
'I Hate You, Woman'
A recently engaged woman (Hudson) with an overabundance of friends begins ceremoniously 'breaking up' with them as she struggles to narrow down her wedding party. When she winds up virtually friendless and too emotionally dependent on her fiance, she realizes the error of her ways and mends fences, opting for city hall nuptials.
An Aside
My Bromance Proposition
Film critic Andrew Sarris has defined the screwball comedy as "a sex comedy without the sex”.
Why are women superfluous in Bromance? They serve two functions: the to-be-looked-at women, usually strippers or random women that are displayed for viewing pleasure only, the second type is the shrew or the cruder term would be a bitch who serves to remind the male protagonist/s why they need or prefer their male companions. Other than as eye candy woman are underdeveloped character-wise. I am often left wondering why they are there; they are literally wastes of space. In comparison, there are very few films with genuine women friendships are depicted and men are the throwaway characters.
The significance of Bromance is the true romance and coming together is between the men. Women’s friends in films, like women in Bromances are not crucial they might provide momentary distractions and small amounts of comic relief but they fade into the background and never fully reappear. Male companions are actually present through the entire film; much to the dismay of screen wives and girlfriends. A case study of this would be the film The Hangover, the last scene of the film centers around the four main male characters. They have made it home from their Vegas trip half alive so that Doug can get married. They arrive just in time and he gets married, at the reception we have a brief glimpse of the bride and then no more the film ends with the men lounging in chairs discussing their wild trip. What a way to begin a marriage—hanging out with your male friends.
Classic Screwball was unique—women and men were equal or at least verbally equal, they sparred, they flirted, but mainly they had fun. For some reason this is no longer the case. The non-traditional couple is now the space for this type of relationship. Mother and Daughter a la Gilmore Girls or male/male combos via buddy films and bromances. One theory is that sex during the production code enforcement was absent and now that same sex-less state for obvious reasons is absent so it adds that missing element of sexual frustration has been funneled into common everyday frustrations.
Obviously the friendships and romances shown are fantasies and not real depictions of those relationships. Not many people can afford to keep the same routines that they have with friends in college into life after. Movies such as Knocked Up with Seth Rogen where he has no job except for a website that he runs with his friends and some money leftover from a lawsuit and he manages to live quite nicely without an actual job. Can you imagine female actresses in the male roles in Bromances? Are audiences even ready for such a thing…
I am very interested to see the new film, Bridesmaids (May 2011) starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, John Hamm. I’ve only seen the trailer a few times and it seems like it will be funny. It is being lauded as the female version of Hangover and I am hoping that it is in some ways. Much to my dismay I love Bromances—they embody things that I love most—they are raunchy, irreverent and funny; unfortunately, they only portray women as stereotypes. Trying to find a film that is the female version of a Bromance has been elusive and it will continue to be until I break down and write it myself. Like ethnicity is dealt with in films so is being a woman. There are many conclusions to be drawn from the depictions of women in films. What stands out to me the most is that as long as sex stands in the way women cannot have fun like their male counterparts. Plus the whole “looks” thing, if you have any sexual appeal, which you usually have to have in order to make it in Hollywood, then you are a sex object and the power that this creates cancels out anything else, and if you are unattractive, god help you, there is no place for you except as a creature to ridicule. Back to the original question can women have fun, be funny, and not be so concerned with finding a partner, and be likable, and simultaneously not be made a sex object? Is there even a market for this type of product? All questions for the future. Stay tuned for a post about the film Bridesmaids.
Film critic Andrew Sarris has defined the screwball comedy as "a sex comedy without the sex”.
Why are women superfluous in Bromance? They serve two functions: the to-be-looked-at women, usually strippers or random women that are displayed for viewing pleasure only, the second type is the shrew or the cruder term would be a bitch who serves to remind the male protagonist/s why they need or prefer their male companions. Other than as eye candy woman are underdeveloped character-wise. I am often left wondering why they are there; they are literally wastes of space. In comparison, there are very few films with genuine women friendships are depicted and men are the throwaway characters.
The significance of Bromance is the true romance and coming together is between the men. Women’s friends in films, like women in Bromances are not crucial they might provide momentary distractions and small amounts of comic relief but they fade into the background and never fully reappear. Male companions are actually present through the entire film; much to the dismay of screen wives and girlfriends. A case study of this would be the film The Hangover, the last scene of the film centers around the four main male characters. They have made it home from their Vegas trip half alive so that Doug can get married. They arrive just in time and he gets married, at the reception we have a brief glimpse of the bride and then no more the film ends with the men lounging in chairs discussing their wild trip. What a way to begin a marriage—hanging out with your male friends.
Classic Screwball was unique—women and men were equal or at least verbally equal, they sparred, they flirted, but mainly they had fun. For some reason this is no longer the case. The non-traditional couple is now the space for this type of relationship. Mother and Daughter a la Gilmore Girls or male/male combos via buddy films and bromances. One theory is that sex during the production code enforcement was absent and now that same sex-less state for obvious reasons is absent so it adds that missing element of sexual frustration has been funneled into common everyday frustrations.
Obviously the friendships and romances shown are fantasies and not real depictions of those relationships. Not many people can afford to keep the same routines that they have with friends in college into life after. Movies such as Knocked Up with Seth Rogen where he has no job except for a website that he runs with his friends and some money leftover from a lawsuit and he manages to live quite nicely without an actual job. Can you imagine female actresses in the male roles in Bromances? Are audiences even ready for such a thing…
I am very interested to see the new film, Bridesmaids (May 2011) starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, John Hamm. I’ve only seen the trailer a few times and it seems like it will be funny. It is being lauded as the female version of Hangover and I am hoping that it is in some ways. Much to my dismay I love Bromances—they embody things that I love most—they are raunchy, irreverent and funny; unfortunately, they only portray women as stereotypes. Trying to find a film that is the female version of a Bromance has been elusive and it will continue to be until I break down and write it myself. Like ethnicity is dealt with in films so is being a woman. There are many conclusions to be drawn from the depictions of women in films. What stands out to me the most is that as long as sex stands in the way women cannot have fun like their male counterparts. Plus the whole “looks” thing, if you have any sexual appeal, which you usually have to have in order to make it in Hollywood, then you are a sex object and the power that this creates cancels out anything else, and if you are unattractive, god help you, there is no place for you except as a creature to ridicule. Back to the original question can women have fun, be funny, and not be so concerned with finding a partner, and be likable, and simultaneously not be made a sex object? Is there even a market for this type of product? All questions for the future. Stay tuned for a post about the film Bridesmaids.
Screwy Ain't It!: Looney Toons Personified
Screwy Ain't It!: Looney Toons Personified: "http://media.photobucket.com/image/looney%20tunes/Leg81012/looney-tunes-original-screen.png?o=9&sortby=sevendaysview His Girl Friday (19..."
Looney Toons Personified
http://media.photobucket.com/image/looney%20tunes/Leg81012/looney-tunes-original-screen.png?o=9&sortby=sevendaysview
His Girl Friday (1940)
Dir. Howard Hawks
Written by Charles Lederer adapted from a play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Carey Grant, Ralph Bellamy
*Note—dialogue is all shared, every person is special and provides something to the overall wonderfulness of the movie, it is definitely an ensemble cast.
I have watched this film many times: when I was a child my parent’s played the VHS rented from the Library every so often, when I was older when they would show it on Turner Classic Movies, and now as an adult as because it never gets old. I’ve watched it about ten times now and written about it already for this blog. I thought I would have another go and focus on how they use language in the film.
One day I a month ago I put it on and then I laid down—bad idea as I was falling asleep a few moments later I had a brief thought that I would somehow absorb and be able to understand the dialogue in the dream state better than I have before. Wrong, but I did come to the conclusion that no matter how much you concentrate on just the words they still manage to slip away. I was bolstered later after reading an article, Treatise on Hawks by Bosley Crowther, a New York Times movie reviewer from 1940 to 1967.
"He believes that it [dialogue] should be written almost like music, with the important words emphasized or scored and the rest of it allowed to flow off indifferently. That’s the way most people hear conversation anyhow, he thinks."
Great—how am I supposed to analyze something that for all intents and purposes is not meant to be heard as a whole? Well, all I can do is try…
Major themes and sub-themes and tropes worked out through dialogue in the film:
➢ Code switching
➢ Gender
➢ Pace
➢ Tragedy {silence}
Code switching
Opening sequence:
A lot of things happen in a relatively short amount of time. First the newsroom setting with its frenetic energy and pace is shown and then Hildy arrives by elevator with her fiancé Bruce. Below is summary, in order, of Hildy’s many different code-switching moments just in the first part of the film.
“Hiya Skinny”—newsroom boy
Telephone operators—knowing, joking
Bruce (fiancé)—soft tones
Fellow newsmen—“Hi Hildy”—earned respect from her—both in opening sequence and later in the jail newsroom bantering back and forth and joking about her hat etc.
Conversation with fellow woman, in the newsroom, gossip columnist condescending because Hildy is different she is/was one of the guys and holds a certain status as such
Walter-ex-husband, talking down, insults flying back forth, ramping up of conversations to climax, ebbs and flows and eventually crashes against the shore as tempers flare and cool alternately
o Gender: Battle of the Sexes
• wants to be spoiled by a man, Bruce “…treats her like a woman”
• “Newspaperman” because she is so good, she is allowed to be a “newspaperman” she has proved herself but by the end of the film she has backpedaled a lot
• Wants to be a “woman” AKA a Housewife after having experienced being a career woman
• one scene when she reverts to stereotypical behavior :the closing scene which has never jibbed well with me; it kind of sits there in film leaving a bad taste in you mouth in film that otherwise shows a smart, intelligent, and capable women. She begins as a “fast talking dame” and ends as a patsy, reduced to tears—effectively silenced—back in her old job tied to Walter again who continues to use her for his own purposes.
• the title actually hints at ending with the “His” attached to Girl Friday
• Pace
o * “…comedy that set the standard and style for fast talk.”
o * “…film reproduces speech at 240 words per minute, compared to the average pace of 100 to 150 words.”
o I will see how pace functions in the neo-screwball films so stayed tuned for that in other blog posts we will see if “verbal fluency” and “verbal sparring” are still important
• Moments of Silence or at least it seems silent because it quiets down but only momentarily:
• “The heroines of comedy know that silence is not a natural state but a moral and emotional one reached through speech. The heroines of comedy also know the difference between a silence pregnant with emotional or moral meaning and a silence born of or burdened by inarticulateness (DiBattista 19).”
An article I read, Making Light of Dark: Understanding the World of His Girl Friday by James Walter, lights upon the fact that the film combines elements of comedy and melodrama to create a world. The “tonal shifts” in the movie necessitates “acknowledging the film’s fictional world as a world”.
o Molly’s suicide attempt Newspapermen heckling Molly/very short time as they look down upon her broken body/out of place in this comedy Molly unlike Hildy is unable to communicate with the newsmen. They treat her differently because she cannot speak their language. Only in death or suicide does she merit their attention.
o End sequence when Hildy cries…stands out because most of the film in contrast she can hold her own with him. Walter meanwhile has constant stream of words coming out of his mouth as he cons and spins yarns out of the air and the constant click-clack of Hildy’s typewriter keys as she does what she does best but that all stops when finally becomes she becomes a stereotypical “woman” trailing behind Walter, willing to put up with him because she loves him
Closing thoughts
This film is not perfect but it is a perfect example of Screwball comedy during its heyday. Many of the themes that it deals with sub-textually are still struggled with in more modern films. Can women be smart, capable, and in love? Gender issues with regards to workplaces. Can women be funny? Many times, if modern films are any example, that answer would be no.
http://everygame.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/
*Fast-Talking Dames by Maria DiBattista
Friday, April 8, 2011
Changin’ the Game
http://hugereviews.com/Movies/Young%20Frankenstein.htm
I am a black and white equals gray kinda person. It was and continues to be difficult for me to write anything with certainty. Everything and anything can be disproved or proved for that matter. Reading and writing about Screwball is enjoyable and also endlessly frustrating. I recently tried to track all of the movies and television shows that I’ve watched in search of a formula that in my opinion does not and cannot exist anymore. Censorship actually benefitted film, in my opinion, it created tensions and dialogue that is funny to this day. Not saying and showing things requires more of an effort and it paid off. Saying that I don’t believe in censorship and I don’t think that it would work the same way anymore.
I firmly believe that the precepts set forth by the Hays Office in the 1930’s created a self-reflexivity that would have otherwise been absent. This particular case of self-reflexivity resulted in a more introspective shaping of a touchy subject: sex. The creativity this type of censorship constructed forced the screenwriters and directors to fashion their films, which could not explicitly handle subject matters such as sex, and use dialogue in a way that was smart and funny.
This coercive sanitization of film engendered a dialogue so fraught with undertones, doublespeak, and allusion that everything became about a touch, a glance, and even a certain angle of the camera carried subtext. These have become vehicles through which they all convey the things that they are not supposed to—SEX. The values that were behind the creation and enforcement of the Hays Code were a fantasy even then; the audience knew that when a real husband and wife went home they were not going back to separate beds à la I Love Lucy.
Just for kicks here is piece of the Hays Code:
“II. Sex
The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld. Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.
1. Adultery, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively.
2. Scenes of Passion
a. They should not be introduced when not essential to the plot.
b. Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown.
c. In general passion should so be treated that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element.
3. Seduction or Rape
a. They should never be more than suggested, and only when essential for the plot, and even then never shown by explicit method.
b. They are never the proper subject for comedy.
4. Sex perversion or any inference to it is forbidden.”
(Excerpt from the Hays Code).
Settling on a topic with my advisor has helped tremendously, now I can watch things with a purpose. Trying to watch a film in search of a lost “genre” has proved impossible. I watched over 30 movies and shows in total and if I hadn’t decided to look at how language functions, more specifically dialogue, in a set amount of films I would have been driven mad.
I’ve settled on five films that reach across the comedic spectrum:
1. Barbershop
2. Superbad
3. Pillowtalk
4. Young Frankenstein
5. I have a few options: Juno, Get Shorty, Birdcage, or anything Richard Pryor
His Girl Friday will be the classic Screwball Comedy tape measure for the other films. It has some of the fastest dialogue ever written and it is inventive to boot.
See I'm all about them words
Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words
Hundreds of pages, pages, pages forwards
More words then I had ever heard and I feel so alive
-Jason Mraz (You and I Both)
I will pay particular attention to pace, cadence, modulation, tone, timing, inflection as well as what is said. A major difference between Superbad and His Girl Friday would be the content of the language; one example is cursing, like sex, was verboten in HGF’s filmic world, and SB wouldn’t be the same without it.
Igor: Dr. Frankenstein...
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: "Fronkensteen."
Igor: You're putting me on.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No, it's pronounced "Fronkensteen."
Igor: Do you also say "Froaderick"?
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No... "Frederick."
Igor: Well, why isn't it "Froaderick Fronkensteen"?
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: It isn't; it's "Frederick Fronkensteen."
Igor: I see.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: You must be Igor.
[He pronounces it ee-gor]
Igor: No, it's pronounced "eye-gor."
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: But they told me it was "ee-gor."
Igor: Well, they were wrong then, weren't they?
Semiotics Rule!
It is one of my greatest joys that I can write essays about Maurice Sendak’s book Outside Over There, David Bowie’s package in Labyrinth, and now the film Superbad and track how many times they say different variations of male and female genitalia. The larger picture is that the essay topics above concern the part of culture, film and children’s books that inform our lives—we think only in small ways but are actually have much bigger impacts. Why does the fact that in Superbad they say vagina 20 times and penis/balls over 60 times matter? I don’t know but I want to figure it out.
Friday, February 25, 2011
That Black and White Movie Where People Yell at Each Other...
^The title of this post above is how a person once described His Girl Friday to me. Words can not describe the emotions that I felt at hearing this classic film so maligned (wiping a tear as a recount this sad tale of ignorance).
His Girl Friday (1940)
Dir. Howard Hawks Written/adapted by Charles Lederer from a play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy
Hildy Johnson: [speaking to Walter on the phone] Now, get this, you double-crossing chimpanzee: There ain't going to be any interview and there ain't going to be any story. And that certified check of yours is leaving with me in twenty minutes. I wouldn't cover the burning of Rome for you if they were just lighting it up. If I ever lay my two eyes on you again, I'm gonna walk right up to you and hammer on that monkeyed skull of yours 'til it rings like a Chinese gong.
I'd like to draw your attention, for a moment, to the movie poster pictured above, if you've ever seen Rosalind Russell before I don't know that you would recognize her. The poster artist took liberties with this impressionistic (as in his impression of her) painting he or she did of her. Also, the narrative arc of His Girl Friday is such that it takes place in the space of one day in the life of Hildegarde Johnson (Russell,) Ace Girl Reporter. She only wears two costumes throughout the whole film; neither of which looks remotely like the yellow gown on the film poster. Another thing that is way off is the provocative one-liner above her, it reads: "She Learned About Men From Him!". "Him" being Walter Burns, played by Cary Grant-Hildy's ex-husband. False advertsing, in my opinion, the photo of Hildy combined with the blurb is misleading and has nothing to do with the film.
I'm currently reading a book, Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre, by Tamar Jeffers McDonald. She talks about the romcom as a whole and also different offshoots or as she calls the "sub-genres," Screwball, The Sex Comedy of the late 50s and sixties, the radical romantic comedy, and the neo-traditional romantic comedy. McDonald, like me, also believes that even immediatly after screwball's heyday it's elements went into other sub-genres.
In the section on screwball she talks about violence and the what it means to Romantic Comedy and screwball. This struck me as I had just watched His Girl Friday, and this film has what you might call a violent pace. Barbs and insult fly with deadly intent between Hildy and Walter, mumbled or spat back and forth they skewer each other with suprising venom, Hildy as the wronged woman and Walter because will do anything to keep her around long enough to con her back into being a "newspaper man." Insults also fly towards the inept sheriff and the crooked warden who are part of a newspiece that Hildy's writing.
Violence is not simply physical but a verbal act as well. Although, their is a scene where Hildy in order to get a scoop hikes up her skirt and sprints after a man and then literally jumps him from behind. At Walter and Hildy's first meeting, after heated words Hildy throws her purse at Walter. He proceeds to stalk her around the room gesticulating and simaltaneously cajoling and threatening try to get her to return to work and also saying,
"Let's not fight, Hildy. Tell you what. You come back to work on the paper and if we
find we can't get along in a friendly way, we'll get married again."
This statement exemplifies marriage in classic screwballs. McDonald points out that the
difference between romcoms and screwballs, concerning violence both physical and verbal, is
that in a screwball it never stops between the protagonists. The traditional concept of a home
and married life is absent from a SC. The end of His Girl Friday implies that Walter and Hildy
will get married again, will it have the oh-so important honeymoon that Hildy longs for:
Hildy: Oh, yes -- we were to have it right after ourhoneymoon -- honeymoon!Walter: Was it my fault? Did I know that coal minewas going to have another cave-in? I meant to be with you on ourhoneymoon, Hildy -- honest I did.Hildy: All I know is that instead of two weeks in Atlantic City with my bridegroom,
I spent two weeks in a coal mine with John Kruptzky -- age sixty-three -- getting food and air
out of a tube! You don't deny that. Do you?
Walter: Deny it! I'm proud of it! We beat the whole
country on that story.
Hildy: Well, suppose we did? That isn't what I got
married for.
There will be no white picket fences or babies for Hildy Johnson. This ending and the ideologiesthat lie behind it are the reasons why I believe that the screwball couple no longer has to followan antiquated norm of heterosexuality. While marriage is an important element it is not crucial,it does not make or break the narrative structure of a SC. Censorship can explain the use ofmarriage which allowed screwball couples freedoms onscreen that would not have otherwisebeen shown. Marriage is in effect a "beard." So, that is why after the code was lifted ascrewball couple could manifest itself as Seth and Evan in the film Superbad or Lorelai and Rory,mother and daughter duo on Gilmore Girls.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Superbad-He's Our Man If He Can't Do It No One Can *shaking pompoms while chanting this
Warning this post is rated R.
Superbad (2007)
Dir. Greg Mottola Written by: Seth Rogen
Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Evan: You could always subscribe to a site like Perfect Ten. I mean that could be anything, it could be a bowling site.
Seth: Yeah, but it doesn't actually show d*&k going in which is a huge concern.
Evan: Right, I didn't realize that.
Seth: Besides, have you ever seen a vagina by itself?
Evan: No.
Seth: [shakes his head] Not for me.
Seth: Yeah, but it doesn't actually show d*&k going in which is a huge concern.
Evan: Right, I didn't realize that.
Seth: Besides, have you ever seen a vagina by itself?
Evan: No.
Seth: [shakes his head] Not for me.
Superbad, Superbad why are you so supergood? Basic premise: Two about-to-graduate teenagers, Seth (Hill) and Evan (Cera), are hot-to-trot, hot and bothered, you know-*wink,wink--ready to do some recreational wrestling. The lock in on their targets and Dude-the party of the year happens and they are in or so they think. Before they can ...ahem, have some fun they must go on an important mission: LIQUOR ACQUISITION. They rally the troop(s), the self-dubbed, McLovin' and set forth to Ye Olde Liquor Store. Armed with spermicidal lube, condoms, and green beer they manage to make it to the party after a long night of battle.
If your eyebrows are raised right now and you are puzzled as to why I would add this movie to a list of potential modern Screwball. Well, one of my working theories is that the Screwball Comedy film, might not, and maybe can't, exist in the contemporary film world. But maybe elements still survive and have gone off into other diegesises (other film narratives).
Where has the Screwball couple gone? I think that because the restraints of the past have slightly lifted a non-heteronormative couple can be substituted for the traditional male-female one that was paramount. All joking aside, I would rather watch a good "Bromance" any day of the week than some of the recent spate of third-rate romantic comedies. The comedic elements are seriously lacking in many of the mainstream romcoms that I watch.
So, do Seth and Evan qualify as a Screwball couple? Yes! Absolutley and emphatically yes. They are highly dysfunctional, chronically squabbling, yet beautifully matched, loyal and equal friends.
Seth: I just wanna go to the rooftops and scream, "I love my best friend, Evan."
Evan: Let's... go on my roof.
We are at an interesting point in the Bromance-sphere, they have hit their peak, at least in my estimation. The second-rate films are up next in the queue. The Golden Age of Bromance has passed-leaving The 40-Year Old Virgin, The Hangover, and Superbad etc. to comfort us through the pale imitations of Bro-Love.
That's enough for now. I will revisit Superbad at some point in the future. Here are few asides that I happened upon...
Watching the movie for the first time I noticed the lack of the whole word: vagina, so the second time around I noted every manifestation of the word and they only said the word once, way in the beginning of the movie.
Here are my findings:
1. Vag-tastic voyage
2. Vagina
3. Vagine
4. Pussy
5. Pussy
6. Pussy*(insult)
7. Vagtastic
8. Pussy (insult)
9. Anti-poon
10. Pussy (insult)
11. Pussy (insult)
12. Vagi
13. Vag
14. Pussy (insult)
15. 2xpussy (insult)
16. pussy
17. pussy
18. pussy (insult)
19. pussy
20. man-gina
21. pussy (insult)
22. Pussies (insult)
2. Vagina
3. Vagine
4. Pussy
5. Pussy
6. Pussy*(insult)
7. Vagtastic
8. Pussy (insult)
9. Anti-poon
10. Pussy (insult)
11. Pussy (insult)
12. Vagi
13. Vag
14. Pussy (insult)
15. 2xpussy (insult)
16. pussy
17. pussy
18. pussy (insult)
19. pussy
20. man-gina
21. pussy (insult)
22. Pussies (insult)
It's has to mean something, right? The next viewing I will track the word, Penis, in an effort to be equal opportunity.
My name is Superbad but I also answer to... (from imdb.com)
| Superbad | Germany / Greece |
| Çok fena | Turkey (Turkish title) |
| Súper cool | Mexico |
| Separation Anxiety | USA (fake working title) |
| Super Baldas | Portugal |
| Super cool | Argentina |
| SuperGrave | France |
| Superbad - É Hoje | Brazil |
| Superbad - ülikõva! | Estonia |
| Superbad - Maiali dietro ai banchi | Italy (pre-release title) |
| Superbad - avagy miért ciki a szex? | Hungary |
| Supercool | Peru |
| Supergrave | Belgium (French title) |
| Supermalades | Canada (French title) |
| Supersalidos | Spain |
| Supersamiec | Poland |
| Supersugen | Sweden |
| Suxbad - Tre menti sopra il pelo | Italy |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)