Vim Quietude

Power in comedy?

I was watching the Dodgeball movie dvd the other day, and I noticed something. Well, actually, I watched the dvd a long, long time ago. That’s still technically the “other day,” except that when you say it it implies a recent day. Anyway, I watched the movie again recently, and it reminded me of the dvd.

Specifically it reminded me of the alternate ending. Now, if you haven’t seen the movie I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by mentioning that the good guy underdog team beats the heavily favored bad guy team at the end of the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, tough. But you should have been able to predict that.

However, this wouldn’t have been the case if the….well I don’t know who’s idea it was but I assume the director. Maybe the producer, but I’ll assume the director. Anyway, in the alternate ending, which is what the director wanted, the good guys lose. That’s it. Nothing happens after it. Right at the scene where Vince Vaughn gets eliminated the movie ends. No aftermath or turnabout for the good guys. It’s a serious downer ending.

The director, or whoever was doing the voiceover, said that it was the way to go. I think he said cinematographically it was the way to go, or something like that. I don’t know how to spell it. The reasoning is that you can’t win them all, and that’s life. According to the commentator both Vince Vaughn And Ben Stiller supported the alternate ending, although I don’t know if they were just being supportive of the director. It’s not good form to go against the director if you’re an actor, in general.

While it is true that you can’t win them all in life and there are several letdowns in life, the fact remains that it’s a movie. Not just any movie, but a comedy movie at that. Also, earlier in the movie you had dodgeball teams consisting of girl scouts, M.I.L.F.S, lumberjacks, and people in bondage gear; Lance Armstrong appearing and giving a pep talk, William Shatner and Chuck Norris as part of the dodgeball committee, a huge sign above the arena that says “Go Balls Deep,” a young boy winning a cheerleading contest as a last-second replacement, and a man who thinks he’s a pirate. Oh, and did I mention that the bad guy’s team name is the “Purple Cobras?”

So you mean to tell me that after all that, in what is an obviously fictional movie trying to achieve laughter from it’s audience, that it’s best to have a “real life” downer ending? What have you been smoking? Whatever it is, don’t pass any over here.

But actually, this isn’t exactly a one-time thing. Another example is the movie Clerks, where in the alternate ending Kevin Smith had Dante, the main clerk, get shot and apparently killed in a robbery of the store. That’s how he ends the movie. He was wisely advised to cut that part out and he did, never looking back. But it’s interesting to see how he wanted to end the movie, even after all the comedic events that preceded it.

It occurs to me that the desire for a comedian to be serious is nothing new. I don’t know much about the older comics but the more recently popular comics all seem to follow the same trend. When was the last time you saw Jim Carrey in a comedy movie? Robin Williams has done many serious films, and great ones at that. Even Adam Sandler is going all serious on us. Do they simply get tired of doing comedy, or is there some meaning that comedy cannot fulfill?

It’s nothing new to blend comedy and drama. Almost all serious dramas have their funny moments thrown in to relieve the audience a little bit. Think of when they find the wrong Private Ryan in Saving Private Ryan. Similarly, most comedy movies have a touch of drama or seriousness in them. But there is a key difference that I note.

You can find people who never act in comedies, or never try to be funny. They can be funny from time to time, but they’ll never admit it. If you ask them, they’ll say “I’m not funny” every time. However, you cannot find anyone who will say “I’m not serious, ever” or “I’m never serious.”

Is it impossible to sustain comedy?

posted by Deriser @ 2:38 AM