There are two main types of comedy; films that are comedian-led with well-timed jokes or gags and situation-comedies which create humour through the narrative and order in which events occur. These often overlap.
Slapstick Comedy: This is the oldest type of comedy which came about during silent film though it is also demonstrated in The Mask (1994). Slapstick was often enjoyed most by audiences who could not speak English as the timing and exaggerated violence and actions were used to create the humour instead of dialogue.
Black/Dark Comedy: A film of dark comedy will use serious topics such as war, death or illness to create humour where negative emotions are usually aroused. Black humour may use irony to make the audience experience both laughter and uneasiness. Films of the black comedy genre include Juno (2007) and Big Nothing (2006).
Parody/Spoof Comedy: These films are humourous impersonations or spin-offs of other films. They borrow from the text and implement humour to make fun of the text that has been borrowed from. Examples of this include Scary Movie (2000) and Epic Movie (2007).
Satire Comedy: Irony is used in topics, particularly political, to present people or social institutions as corrupt or ridiculous in order to create comedy. It is designed to "first make people laugh, and then make them think" and is there to educate the audience. A modern example is Hot Fuzz (2007) in which the focus is on police and law enforcement in society.
Comedy film can also be separated into other groups further:
Teen comedy: Aimed at teens or young adults, this is often set in high schools with adoloescents in conflict for authority and sexual adventures (Easy A, 2010)
Romantic comedy: Aimed at women or couples aged specifically up to 35 year olds, this is a popular hybrid genre incorporating the main genre of romance to create humour about relationshiops and love (He's Just Not That Into You, 2009)
Social comedy: Comedies using social realism and social class conflict, common amongst British comedy, aimed at a varied audience (Anuvahood, 2011)
Gross-out comedy: A cycle or collection of the above comedies but to more outrageous exteremes
In order for me to help create a range of ideas for our opening, I have chosen a few openings and stated which type of comedy they are and why. By doing this I hope to gain a better understanding of the comedy genre and will know which will be the most appropriate comedy for us to create.
Juno (2007)
This teen comedy takes the theme of pregnancy and adoption which are not normally sensitive and serious topics to add a funny twist; therefore, this is a black/dark comedy. It dares to add humour where it is not typically seen. However, when a black comedy would normally be aimed at a niche audience, this film was still released mainstream producing a gross revenue of $231,411,584. This may be difficult to produce when creating our own comedies as we would have to choose a subject which some group members may be sensitive to or not comfortable with.
Thank You For Smoking (2005)
This film uses themes of smoking, role models and speeches whilst tackling the politically controversial issues of smoking, obesity and guns by bringing them to a comic light. The political aspects of this film make it a satire comedy. Though educational and effective if done correctly, a satire comedy make be difficult to create as it tackles controversial subjects difficult to show in the opening of a film.
