You don’t always expect comedians or even comedic directors to switch over suddenly and start doing serious movies since it just doesn’t feel like it’s in the cards. When Jim Carrey started taking on serious roles people were floored since they didn’t know what to think or expect. But the thing is, everyone has to change eventually and things have to evolve if people want their careers to continue, otherwise things stagnate and nothing moves forward. If things don’t move forward, then people become stuck in the past and are quickly forgotten given the pace that Hollywood moves at. Directors especially need to make their reputation before they make this kind of move since someone that skips from one type of movie to another is bound to be seen as inconsistent, while those that make a reputation for themselves and then make a big switch when their reputation is solid enough can do this, so long as they make a play that’s strong enough for people to get behind so that they can cheer them on. Without the support of the audience and, obviously, those they work with, directors trying to make this switch are going to be off in the ozone trying to do their own thing without anyone paying attention.
But some make it work. Here are a few comedic directors that switched gears and made a serious movie in a convincing way.
5. Adam McKay-The Big Short
2008 is a year that people still remember thanks to the housing crisis, and that’s all that people really need to know since this movie is bound to get folks worked up, especially those that remember how bad things became and how bad they were for a while after. Foreclosures were only a small part of the equation at that time, and getting this movie together was almost like waking people up again to remind them that something truly horrifying had happened only a short while ago. Some would gladly point out what didn’t really happen and what was fictionalized, but the truth of the matter is that it was a very bad time for a lot of people.
4. David Dobkin-The Judge
People that don’t go home usually have a reason, and sometimes the worst is that they left to get away from a family member that they didn’t see eye to eye with for a long time. When a lawyer has to head to his hometown to see his father, and then winds up having to defend him despite his father’s reluctance to even accept him into his life again, things get pretty bitter. A lot of people, critics mainly, have been down on this movie for one reason or another, but if one listens to the story and really gets into it they might see that it’s actually a touching story about reconnecting and never giving up on family, no matter what.
3. Peter Farrelly-Green Book
The truth about America isn’t always pretty since there was a time not long ago when people of color were still treated like second-class citizens no matter how high they rose. Sadly, those that think this today don’t always tend to understand that every person living today isn’t judged by the color of their skin, but the character, or lack thereof, that they display when it comes to the face that they choose to display to the world. In this particular story, both men had misconceptions about each other that they needed to let go of in a bid to accept each other for who they were. If that could happen this world might be better off.
2. Jay Roach-Trumbo
How the world views Dalton Trumbo usually depends on the perspective that’s being used since to be fair, the guy wasn’t as cute and cuddly as Bryan Cranston tried to make him. He did fight for his rights, but he wasn’t quite the same hero that the movie wants you to believe, though again, that’s dependent on the perspective that’s being used. In any case, this movie told a fast and loose story about the life of Dalton Trumbo that showed how he felt about being censored, accused, convicted, and otherwise blacklisted over the years. How you view this movie really depends on what you want to believe.
1. Todd Phillips-Joker
Many people agree that this should have been the most important movie of the year, but others still insisted that it was a dangerous movie to showcase with the civil unrest that was already going on. Does anyone remember the 60s though? What this movie did, the resources it took up to ensure that there were no more theater shootings like the one that happened during The Dark Knight, made it apparent just how ridiculous people can be when they decide to be scared of every little thing.
Switching from comedy to drama almost feels like a teeter-totter since life can go either way. Horror comes when you fall off the ride.
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