The Comedy genre has always been one of extreme popularity across time. Comedic films have been created as early as 1895 and have maintained their dominant position for good reason. Comedy films can appeal to all audiences and age groups, can be a reliable source of revenue for production companies, and are relatively cheap to produce.

The definition of Comedy according to the Cambridge Dictionary is "(a) type of movie, play, or book that is intentionally funny either in its characters or its actions." The genre has created many classic films over time that have cemented its place in the structure of modern society such as Modern Times, Borat, Duck Soup, and Office Space. Movies such as these are not only created for the sake of entertainment, but also to help understand the state of society and reflect on it through satire. For example, the movie Borat released in 2006 received a total of 20 awards and 34 nominations for its story and screenplay, often being seen as a satirical film on American society in the mid-2000s.

Content:

Unpredictability is often used in Comedy movies and is one of their greatest strengths. To be specific, the sudden change to something completely unexpected in films not only allows for humor, but adds to the story and how the characters end up where they are now. For example, in the movie The Naked Gun, police detective Frank Drebin has to use a multitude of plans and disguises in order to save Queen Elizabeth II of England from being assassinated. The absurd actions that Drebin takes are his means of attempting to save the day.

Over the top reactions, personalities, and situations are another common theme in Comedy movies. With these tactics, it allows for unexpected plot development and relatability towards a common theme of ridiculous story elements. This can be seen in movies like Tommy Boy, where Tommy is most often having over exaggerated reactions in the stress of trying to save his father's company.

Gags and funny wordplay are also a notable element in the most popular of Comedy movies. In the Monty Python movies, they rely heavily on misunderstandings and unexpected word choices that wouldn't be expected for those specific scenes. This could be seen in a famous Monty Python movie called "Monty Python and The Holy Grail," where during the film, a black knight, who had just had his arm chopped off by King Arthur exclaimed "Tis but a scratch." This is an example of the iconic gags and wordplay that cemented the Monty Python movies important place in Comedy history.

Production Techniques:

In the production of Comedy movies, they most often use camera techniques in order to help build the narrative and story that is trying to be created. For example, in sport Comedy movies such as Major League II, they include montages of funny action sequences in order to try and add more hilarity to the situation. Another way camera techniques are used are with quick cuts in order to help propel the unexpectedness present in a film at that time. For instance, in the movie Shaun of the Dead, there is a multitude of quick shots and angles used to help display the events of the plot and reflect on how the characters feel in their present situation.

Comedy movies also acknowledge the importance of the environment the scenes are being shot in. To make sure that a light and comedic aspect is brought to scenes in a comedy film, they use high key lighting in a majority of their shots. This allows for the audience to feel a sense of relief and calm as they enjoy the content of the film.

Marketing:

Comedy movie marketing typically appeals to a wide variety of audiences but more often split into two demographics. For movies such as "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," and "Tropic Thunder," appealed to a more lower brow audience with juvenile humor such as farts and absurd actions and lines. However, for movies such as "Annie Hall," and "The Big Lebowski," it appeals to a higher brow audience with its satire style and intelligent commentary on the state of society.

With the different audience types, it is also common for these higher and lower brow movies to be shown through different strategies. For example, in lower brow comedy movies, the plot is shown to be simple and surrounded by a multitude of physical and raunchy comedy to appeal to their target audiences. However, higher brow comedy movies focus on the more subtle comedy of their films and aim to show it through a less forceful manner compared to the more juvenile pictures.

Film Sample #1: Black Sheep (1996)

The film "Black Sheep," is a 1996 film that takes place in Washington about the efforts taken by Steve Dodds, a member on the staff of governor Al Donnelly, when working together with the brother of the governor, Mike Donnelly. Throughout the course of the film, they travel throughout the state to try and help Al win the election, but have many unfortunate situations occur along the way. In all, this movie is a perfect example of the absurd and unpredictable aspects of the Comedy genre. This is due to the movie's consistent use of the physical talent of Chris Farley along with the road trip taken by both him and David Spade throughout the course of the film. For example, in the film, when the house they are staying at in the woods begins to collapse, they began to react in an absurd manner helping to create a major joke and plot point in the film's story. In these examples as well as others throughout the course of the film, a feeling of unexpectedness is created as the movie progresses towards the ending election, which allows a multitude of strong comedic scenes to be created. This helps to create the kind of Comedy movie Black Sheep was as well as entertain the target audience it had originally advertised to.

Film Sample: Airplane! (1980)

The movie "Airplane!" is a 1980 Comedy movie about a series of funny events and characters on an Airplane as well as the backstory of the main character Ted Striker as he tries to win back his girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson. This film is one of the most well-known and recognizable uses of word play and gags in Comedy movies due to the specific script structure that they had aimed for. To be specific, the script structure had planned to use actors most common with drama and have them display their lines in a deadly serious manner, having everyone take everything they say as completely serious with no outrageous reactions. This allowed for the comedic use of misunderstandings throughout the course of the film. For example, in the film, Dr. Rusack played by Leslie Nielsen, who is an extremely popular dramatic comedy actor, was asked by Elaine Dickinson "A hospital? What is it?" when questioning the state of a woman on the plane. Dr. Rusack then replied "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now." The serious portrayal of characters by actors such as Leslie Nielsen allowed the film to be a massive success with audiences, allowing it to be an accurate and successful example of the word play and gag aspect of the Comedy genre.