THE COMIC RANT

Ah, the comic rant.

One of the staples of great film comedy. A motif which only works if the character delivering the rant is believable. Notice I didn't say actor. Vince Vaughn is the master of the comic rant. His moments of observation in WEDDING CRASHERS are priceless, and oft imitated.

But there are other movies where it just doesn't feel right. When the rant feels like he's trying too hard. And he might be -- because the character isn't real. Isn't passionate. Isn't fully committed to making everyone in the scene see their point of view.

There's only so much Vince can do in FOUR CHRISTMASES. The man is trying. But it's just not working. Why? Because his character has been set up as nothing more than Vince Vaughn.

Watch the movie. It's not great. No spoilers there.

We also have to believe in the COMIC RANT. We have to side with the person persuading us. Here's a short one. It's from BULL DURHAM -- an R-Rated baseball comedy.

Is he ranting? Well, he's Crash Davis. So he's not going to lose his cool. But he sharing his world view with Annie, letting her and us know how smart he is. He's not showing off. It's what he believes in. The subtext (there's always subtext) being if you can't see how you should be with me, there's something wrong with you. We don't know much about Crash before this rant -- but we know a lot about him after it.

The comic rant can come out of frustration. Like the cap on an oil well blowing. It might come out of a character who is uptight. See Neal below, played by Steve Martin in PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES. This is his only blow-up in the movie. If he acted like this, we wouldn't empathize with him. The rant has to be something we can RELATE TO (we have all been frustrated at rental car counters, or any counter for that matter) and it has to be EARNED. We have seen what Neal has been through up to this point. He is just a man desperate to get home in time for Thanksgiving.

Sometimes the comic rant is just comic. Just plain laugh out loud funny. See Exhibit B below. That's B for Bluto. The perpetual college student who rallies his frat brothers to stand up and fight.

IN SCHOOL OF ROCK -- the key is passion. Dewey, as played by Jack Black, is passionate about his music; about the state of rock and roll today. Thematically, this works well as he is a posing as teacher. Even if the kids don't understand what he is talking about, the audience does.

And finally it all comes back to NETWORK, written by Paddy Chayefsky. It's a dark comic tale about the state of the network news in 1975. 1975. This rant is one of social commentary. The scary thing is it has all come to pass.

Again -- it is earned. No one wants to be screamed at. But if you pull it off, look for that moment in your screenplay where the protagonist cannot take it anymore. You might learn something about your comic hero, and teach us something about the world.

FORCED TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY...OR THEIRS

Well, they want you to spend time with the FOCKERS. Some very good and funny people have been involved with this. But the extended erectile gag in the trailer makes me a little worried that all they have the premature laughs that are in the trailer. It seems to be lacking the "heart" that the first one did. Then again, it's only a trailer...

COMEDY ROUND-UP - WEEK ENDING JUNE 4

Some comedy projects, castings that have been set up or announced this week.

FUN SIZE

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Josh Scwartz is involved with Colbert Writer Max Werner's script FUN SIZE. It's described as a cross between Superbad and Adventures in Babysitting. You can here the article here.

MY IDIOT BROTHER

In another one of those titles that make for a perfect comedy, Paul Rudd has signed on to star in MY IDIOT BROTHER.

"Brother" sees Rudd playing an idealist dealing with his overbearing mother who crashes into the homes of his three ambitious sisters and, in succession, brings truth, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives while also wreaking havoc.

You can here the Hollywood Reporter article here.

STEVE CARELL HITS PUBERTY

Deadline Hollywood is reporting Steve Carell is set to star in LATE BLOOMER. It's described as:

a "comedy is about a guy who deals with a sudden rush of raging teenage hormones at a time when most men are calming down."

You can read the article here.

INTERVIEW: GANZ & MANDEL

Check out this interview with comedy masters, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel. These guys have been writing comedies for over 30 years. That's a lot of jokes. Though their heyday was in the 90's ("CITY SLICKERS", "SPLASH") they are not going anywhere. Currently in development they have:

MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE

BOB: THE MUSICAL

DAMN YANKEES

I'm not only green with envy over their ability but love the fact these guys have never written on spec. Enjoy.

Comedy Death Ray @ CineFamily

If you're in the Los Angeles area, check out the Comedy Death Ray Movie Series at Cinefamily.

Known as Los Angeles’ best comedy night, Comedy Death-Ray (held Tuesdays at the UCB) is famous for offering world-class comics in an intimate and revealing setting. Now host Scott Aukerman is bringing those same comedians to the Cinefamily on the first Sunday of every month to show you the films that influence them! . Each night, a different comedian showcases their favorite film in 35mm, and also shares short films and clips that they’ve either made, start in, or just love.

http://www.cinefamily.org/calendar/comedydeathray.html

FUNNY SCENES - SPOTLIGHT ON CROSS-TALK

Each Tuesday, or once a week, I will post what I think is a funny scene, or a scene I remember laughing out loud when I saw it. Today's scene focuses on the dialogue device known as cross-talk.

Cross-talk is when two characters in the scene THINK they are talking about the same thing but are actually having two different conversations. It only works if the audience is in on the joke.

The protagonist/comic hero is in the one who is not in on the joke. In this scene from THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, Ted (Ben Stiller) has been arrested for picking up a hitch-hiker. That is what why he thinks is being interrogated. The police in the scene have found a body in Ted' car -- a dead body left there by the insane hitchhiker Ted picked up and who got away. The police think Ted is a serial killer. (Ah, the stuff of comedy.)

Here is the scene as written by the Peter & Bobby Farelly Brothers and Ed Decter & John J. Strauss.

INT. SOUTH CAROLINA PRISON - DAY

Ted is sitting alone at a table in a small interrogation room. PULLBACK to reveal that he is being observed through a two-way mirror by two detectives, FRANEK and CAVALLO.

DETECTIVE FRANE

Man, they never look like you'd expect.

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

That's probably how he got the victim to

drop his guard.

DETECTIVE FRANEK

Where'd they find the body?

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

In a big red bag on the front passenger seat.

All hacked up--fucking gruesome--a real psycho,

this one.

The Detectives ENTER the room.

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

Ted stands as the Detectives take a seat across from him.

TED

(agitated)

I'm telling you, I did not solicit sex! I

was just stopping to go the bathroom, next

thing I know I tripped over something--well

someone--and, POOF, there's cops and lights and--

DETECTIVE FRANEK

(beat)

Okay, calm down, Ted, we believe you.

(beat)

The problem is we found your friend in

the car.

As Ted sits back down the Detectives just stare at him. Finally Ted thinks he gets it.

TED

Oh. The hitchhiker.

(CHUCKLES)

That's what this is all about.

Ted puts his head in his hands and smiles.

TED (cont'd)

Isn't that just my luck--I get caught for

everything.

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

So you admit it?

TED

Guilty as charged. I'm not gonna play games

with you. I could give you a song and dance

but what's the point? I did it and we all

know it.

(laughs)

The hitcher himself told me it's illegal

The irony.

The Detectives are surprised by his forthrightness.

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

Well, uh, can you tell us his name?

TED

Jeez, I didn't catch it.

The Detectives flinch at his glib demeanor.

DETECTIVE FRANEK

So he was a stranger? It was totally

random?

TED

(confused)

He was the first hitcher I saw, what can I

tell you? Now cut to the chase, how much

trouble am I in?

The Detectives look at one another.

DETECTIVE FRANEK

First tell us why you did it.

TED

Why I did it?

(scoffs)

I don't know. Boredom? I thought I was

doing the guy a favor.

The Detectives look at each other.

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

This wasn't your first time, was it, Ted?

How many we talking?

TED

Hitchhikers? I don't know--fifty...a

hundred maybe--Who keeps track?

Finally Detective Cavallo EXPLODES across the table and starts WAILING on a shocked Ted.

DETECTIVE CAVALLO

You sonofabitch! You're gonna fry!!!!

It's very sparse. Very funny. Comedies tend to be lean. There is no scene description that runs longer than two lines.  Here is the scene to watch: