They shouldn't? Drama is probably the most emotionally complex form of cinema. And, unless you're on prozac or happen to be Leonard Cohen, I find humor is the most common of human emotion. I think it's only natural that a film trying to capture the essence of human emotion should also capture the perplexity as well. So, why not throw in humor? Besides, if you think about it, most of the great dramas of our time are absolutely histerical, in retrospect. If I were to list my favorite films right now, at least 85% or more of them are probably categorized as dramatic pieces, most often. But, you know how many of them probably make me laugh? More than half. More than 1/3, perhaps.



Today, I saw Blades of Glory. Probably the funniest movie I've seen in a long time. But did it move me? No. Effect me? Yeah, until I stopped laughing. Did it change me? Nope. It didn't do anything emotionally for me, not on a long term time-scale. Bottom line is, it was a b-grade comedy, like most comedies being released today. What comedic film makers seem to forget it, humor, although a common emotion, is not the only emotion. Yet, they seem to ignore this fact, and want nothing more than you to laugh. Sure you have your exceptions; look no further than Wes Anderson. The ending of The Life Aquatic was as beautiful and moving as the film was absolutely hysterical. There are certain points in the film in which I never thought I'd laughed so hard. But as the film came to a close, and Anderson made brilliant use of Sigur Rós's "Staraflur", I had chills. The bulk of American comedies today set out to make you laugh, and that's fine and dandy, but then what? It's like pornography... As the film goes on, you start feeling better and better, until you reach some sort of peak, and laugh it all out. Then it's all over, and you leave the theater back where you started, and most likely won't remember a thing about the film in a week or two.



Right, because you can't be scared unless someone dies.