What once was a successful and established genre is now struggling to get audiences in theaters. For a long time, comedies that have been swallowed up as action, dramas or even horror, are taking away the laughs that they deserve.
Nonetheless, it looks like there are still a few people hungry for bringing back success into comedies.
A new movie that gives this genre some hope for studios to invest in these movies is Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson’s new movie, “The Naked Gun.” So far, the movie has grossed almost $75 million worldwide, and $16 million on opening weekend.
Although the movie has been performing well and has already managed to break even in costs, Neeson still made an awareness PSA video on the matter, although of satirical nature.
The video starts out with a message saying, “Every single hour in Hollywood, a comedy script is rejected,” following that with the information that fewer comedies came out last year than ever before.
Even if the PSA is not to be taken seriously, it is a really concerning situation once we think about how comedy motion pictures are reducing in quantity.
We all have enjoyed a comedy film before, it may be that one is our comfort movie or favorite piece of media. One way or the other, it is a genre worth preserving in its purest state.
A well-written comedy is as important as any other film; just because the tone is less serious, it does not detract value from it. Laughing can be a different form of understanding a story and its complexities, as well as a way of improving our mood.
“Dr. Strangelove” addressed nuclear war tension with satire, “The Lego Movie” reflected on the process of maturing and Billy Wilder’s comedic movies critiqued social aspects of its time while audiences wiped their tears from laughter.
The decline of comedies has also been observed by Word of Reel, where they point out comedies accounted for 21.4% percent of films in 2003, but 19 years later, dropped to 6%.
A reason to be associated with this decrease is the production cost of this kind of content, which also is not helped by how subjective humor can be. This is a big factor to consider when some of these movies are made with a U.S. audience in mind.
One example of a comedy movie where the humor is based on United States culture is “Napoleon Dynamite.” One of its biggest reasons for audiences to laugh is its quirky and deadpan characteristics and small-town setting. For me, I found it hard to relate as I never experienced high school in the U.S. or know about some of the culturally unique things that, in my case as a Spanish viewer, I cannot fully grasp.
Despite this, “Happy Gilmore 2” was released recently, along with “The Naked Gun,” and they have received much attention and praise, but the first case is a sequel that was released on a streaming platform and not in a theater. The second is a reboot of three previous movies.
This shows that, although the industry is still trying to keep this genre alive piece by piece, it still lacks a product that represents a film that is hilarious from start to finish. We are struggling to find a reason to go to watch a comedy instead of an action movie where Ryan Reynolds frequently drops a funny line.
What does the future look like for these kinds of films? Neeson’s swap from very serious and tone-dark movies like “Taken” and “Schindler’s List” to a more lighthearted and funny project sets up possible incentive for other actors to do the same.
Big names still attract audiences to the theaters. Therefore, the film industry could take advantage of that and make comedies filled with an A-list cast, which could bring back this genre to life.
We all know the feeling of sitting in a theater and laughing with everyone else there; the building comes alive, and there is just a feel-good energy that spreads from one seat to another.
It is a great feeling, but how long has it been since you last experienced it? Go out there, get a ticket and see how much you will laugh.
