Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Now for something completely different...

Can the screwball comedy still be done today? I've been thinking about my favorite screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s (The Awful Truth, Love Affair, Bringing Up Baby (except for the leopard of course), My Man Godfrey and The Philadelphia Story -- Cary Grant seems to be in an awful lot of them doesn't he?) and wondering if the style can be duplicated and still be contemporary.
Outside of horror this is my favorite genre, this is my favorite sub-genre of a genre. I know I might be reaching, but so-be-it. The wish is to strive to write something along those lines that tries to remain as truthful to the genre as possible. I suppose the reason why I love the film Hudsucker Proxy so much is because it recalls the screwball era.

After all the research and writing I did for one area of my studies, everyone anticipated that I would write a horror script. I wrote sci-fi. I went back to thinking about horror and now...the screwball comedy? I've got nothing to lose right?

4 comments:

redjane Stephanie Belding said...

ooohhhh, I love it! I think comedy , especially the screwball form, is grossly underrated and misunderstood; it's tough stuff to do well because when it's well done it looks so easy. I say go for it! I'd love to see your inner screwball at work! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey SP, Happy New Year! Sounds like you're settling into your new home nicely! My two cents: some people have classified Desperately Seeking Susan as a screwball comedy. It's one of my favourite films.

mister anchovy said...

We live in an age of irony. I don't know if we can let our guard down long-enough to let a screw-ball comedy sneak through. Bringing up Baby is one of my favourites....do we even have any actors who can approach Kate Hepburn and Carey Grant?

sp said...

julia, I too love Desperately Seeking Susan. It definitely has those qualities I'm looking for.

mister anchovy: the star system does function differently now, but I think there are actors out there who could pull it off given the right material. I think Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh were brilliant in Hudsucker Proxy.
Bringing Up Baby is a one of a kind.