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Screwball Comedy

Screwball Comedy. Why “screwball”?.

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Screwball Comedy

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  1. Screwball Comedy

  2. Why “screwball”? • There’s a pitch in baseball called a screwball, which was perfected by a pitcher named Carl Hubbell back in the 1930s. It’s a pitch with a particular spin that sort of flutters and drops, goes in different directions, and behaves in very unexpected ways… Screwball comedy was unconventional, went in different directions, and behaved in unexpected ways… ” • Andrew Bergman,“We're in the Money: Depression America and Its Films”

  3. Screwball based on Farce • improbable situations • exaggerated characters [RC characters are realistic] • fast-paced plot • disguise and mistaken identity • physical humor (slapstick) • verbal humor • High: Sophisticated wordplay • Low: sexual innuendo • ends with an elaborate chase scene [RCs usually slow down at the end] • (e.g. Death at a Funeral, The Hangover)

  4. Screwball adds to farce… • Battle of the sexes • Not romantic in a traditional sense • Mismatched and often hostile to each other • “It’s a sex comedy without the sex.” • Andrew Sarris • Rapid fire dialogue • Overlapping, witty and cruel

  5. Themes of SCs • Inversion • Cross-dressing; the rich slumming; the poor acting rich (Pygmalion); women being smarter and more powerful than men • Often about class • Rich portrayed as idle, pampered & weak • It’s easier for a poor person to act wealthy than vice versa

  6. Screwball attitude • Though they often ended with a wedding, they were irreverent toward societal sacred cows like business, small town life, government, and marriage.

  7. Screwball v. Romantic • Screwball comedies are often cynical, while romantic comedies are sentimental • SCs emphasize silliness and physical comedy; RomComs emphasize drama and love • In SCs the obstacle is often internal; in RCs the obstacle is often external • SCs treat the final joining as a formality; in RCs the love is declared in a grand romantic gesture

  8. Modern screwball comedies • A Fish Called Wanda (1988), d. Charles Crichton • Flirting With Disaster (1996), d. David O. Russell • Intolerable Cruelty (2003), d. Joel and Ethan Coen • I ♥ Huckabees (2004), d. David O. Russell • Leatherheads (2008), d. George Clooney • What Happens in Vegas • The Proposal • Mr. and Mrs. Smith

  9. For what it’s worth… • …the characters of Han Solo and Princess Leia in the film Star Wars have been described as "a classic screwball comedy pair.” • "Star Wars," Brian Libby, Salon.com, May 28, 2002

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