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COMEDY IN FILM

VOCABULARY LIST 1

CRITICAL VIEWING

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BLACK COMEDY

• Looking at the grim with a grin; “black comedy finds humor in serious matters (e.g. death, terminal illness, etc.) Fargo, The Cable Guy, The Graduate, Dr. Strangelove, Heathers– Ex. This particular brand of humor can be

exemplified by a scene in the play Waiting for Godot, where a man takes off his belt to hang himself and his trousers fall down.

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BREAKAWAY FURNITURE

• specially constructed props made from light-weight materials that easily break apart; often used for fight scenes.– Chris Farley (SNL, Tommy Boy)

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SPOOF

• a film that playfully imitates the style of a serious work. Airplane, Austin Powers, Hot Shots, The Naked Gun, Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, Scary Movie, Epic Movie, Vampires Suck, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

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SATIRE

• a film that criticizes the style of a serious work by harshly mocking it. Bulworth, Wag the Dog, And Justice for All, Fargo, This is Spinal Tap, Heathers, Shaun of the Dead, etc.

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MIME (PANTOMIME)

• instrumental in silent films, speechless acting out of a character and his actions.

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IMPROV (IMPROVISATION)

• an actor ad-libs his character, acting out a scene without a script or rehearsal. Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Second City, The Groundlings

Click Video to Play

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SLAPSTICK

• violent actions used for humorous effect. e.g. The Three Stooges, Chris Farley, Jackass.

Click Video to Play

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DOUBLE TAKE

• a delayed comic reaction in which an event goes unnoticed until the actor suddenly acknowledges it.– Smith passes the car and does a double take

as he realizes it is on fire.– I swear I did a double-take when I spotted that

$100 bill lying in the gutter

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PRATFALL

• falling on one’s bottom for comedic effect.

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SCHTICK• a Yiddish term for a

comedian’s trademark talent e.g. Louis Black’s fits of rage – Marx Bros. (mustache (Groucho),

accent (Chico), pantomime (Harpo)– Chris Berman (ESPN) – nicknames,

‘could-go-all-the-way’– Rodney Dangerfield – ‘I get no

respect’

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COMEDY IN TELEVISION

VOCABULARY LIST 1

CRITICAL VIEWING

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SIT-COM (SITUATIONAL COMEDY)

• a television comedy that focuses on the natural humor of a particular setting, purely a television term.– an office in Scranton (The Office)– various locations in Manhattan (Seinfeld)– twenty-somethings (Friends)– Springfield (The Simpsons)– a bar (Cheers)– family animation (Family Guy)

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DRAMEDY

• a genre which combines the elements of drama and comedy; also known as “serio-comedy,” for serious comedy.

- Desperate Housewives

- Burn Notice

- Monk

- Entourage

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SKETCH

• a short comedy routine with actors staged in a pre-planned situation. e.g. Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, The Young Ones, The Second City, The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, In Living Color

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LAUGH TRACK

• a recording of laughter used only in television comedy shows; also known as “canned laughter.”

Click Speaker for Laugh Track

“Friends” w/o a laugh track