https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dygo6u8MXc
Judd Apatow has a theory why comedy films are dying and it might not be too far off the mark. Comedy is going to TV because of the failure to translate in the global market. In other words what’s funny in the US might not be seen as funny or as understandable overseas. It has a lot to do with the cultural norms in each region of the world and how the comedic elements are taken in each separate country. Some countries won’t even allow certain films to be shown either because they can’t be easily translated in their language or because something seems far too offensive to their culture, or another culture, and won’t be shown because it would be a slap in the face to their people.
This is a big part of why comedy is making its way to TV, because at least there it can still garner an audience and make the kind of money that it’s demanded in the past. Since 2007 the amount of money that has been brought in by each comedy that has come out has dropped dramatically and it’s been a slow and then steady pace that has sped up once again to a disastrous pace. In 2017 only a few comedies could be called anywhere near successful and even those only did what might amount to the bare minimum of the kind of success that a film needs in the comedy genre. Things are going downhill fast and it’s not looking so good for the genre no matter how much producers are trying to bring the laughs back to the big screen.
It might be suggested that going back to slapstick and simple comedy might be the key but then it seems as though too many people would be easily offended by the crude and off-color humor that used to work so long ago. I hate to say it but this is what being TOO PC is starting to get us. The more that people get offended by satire and crude comedy the more we’re forced to give up in return as comedy has essentially become a much more watered-down version of what it used to be. You know why people actually laughed at Baywatch last summer? It was hilarious because it was crude and didn’t apologize for it. The movie went back to slapstick in a more modern way that was acceptable and even hilarious, but it still wasn’t enough to gain a healthy profit. Plus the movie was ripped apart by critics who, I’m guessing, have never watched a single Mel Brooks movie without grimacing in distaste.
Crude humor is a part of the movie-going experience and it’s something that Apatow knows about very well. Look at his films if you don’t believe it, the 40-Year Old Virgin was not an innocent film by any means and people loved it. Knocked Up wasn’t a kids’ comedy and people laughed their butts off. I’d say we need to bring back the ‘in your face’ kind of comedy like we were used to in the old days. Slap people with the funny and see how it works.
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