I Love Lucy
A long time ago, I was very sick. In fact, my family was not sure I was going to make it. The doctors I was seeing told me, plainly, "There's nothing more we can do for you . . . it's time to go to a medical college where the treatments are more cutting edge." Only my appointment was a month away with the top guy (who ended up saving my life). So I was sent home to lie in bed for a month . . . waiting. And while I was waiting, one day, in a surprise visit, my dear friend Joyce showed up with a shopping bag--and in the bag were tapes of "I Love Lucy." And she said she had read where laughter truly is the best medicine, and maybe I could watch them.
Because of the medication I was taking, I literally slept maybe 45 minutes a night. You're reading that correctly. The rest of the time, I was wide awake. For the first few days, you get a lot of housecleaning done. I cleaned my kitchen floor with a toothbrush. But after a while, exhaustion sets in, plus I was losing the ability to walk around. So the couch it was--me and Lucy. I would pop in those tapes around three in the morning. And LAUGH. Not just laugh, HOWL. The one where Lucy and Ethel get the job on the candy manufacturing line? Oh my God, but I just laughed my head off. Vitameatavegamin. Come on . . . how can you not laugh?
And . . . I did get well. I don't know if it was Lucy . . . or determination. Or the fancy doctor I saw. But I got well.
Which brings me to my work in progress. It's a comedy. And from the outside, comedy can look "easy." When I read some of the derisive commentary on chick lit, for instance, it's easy to dismiss it. When you see a stand-up comic who makes you laugh, sometimes it seems as if all it is are easy riffs on life. You want a riff? Don't get me started on diapers and babies and spit-up.
Look at comedy at the Academy Awards. Usually snubbed in favor of the heavy dramas. Because comedians make it look too easy.
But as I write 350 pages of comedy, trying to be funny on every page, it's difficult. Lucille Ball was a shrewd businesswoman. She was a consummate comedienne who made us laugh--but it wasn't easy. It was art.
Comedy. I think it take finesse, wit, some natural grace. But I never work harder than when I write my comedies.
And there's something else too. In Diary of a Blues Goddess, I had a drag queen as the best friend to my heroine. It may have seemed like an easy laugh. Tall (over six feet tall), exaggerated mannerisms, a "queen," Dominique was funny. But, I also afforded her respect. For instance, "she" was always a "she." And without the quotation marks. She was a trannie who deserved that. And she had pathos, too. Because the flip side to comedy is often a dash of tragedy, and Dominique had her share of heartache. What about Life is Beautiful? The ultimate tragedy and comedy mixed together.
So how about you? Have you ever tried your hand at writing comedy? And what makes you laugh--books, movies, TV shows--out loud until your stomach hurts?
Because of the medication I was taking, I literally slept maybe 45 minutes a night. You're reading that correctly. The rest of the time, I was wide awake. For the first few days, you get a lot of housecleaning done. I cleaned my kitchen floor with a toothbrush. But after a while, exhaustion sets in, plus I was losing the ability to walk around. So the couch it was--me and Lucy. I would pop in those tapes around three in the morning. And LAUGH. Not just laugh, HOWL. The one where Lucy and Ethel get the job on the candy manufacturing line? Oh my God, but I just laughed my head off. Vitameatavegamin. Come on . . . how can you not laugh?
And . . . I did get well. I don't know if it was Lucy . . . or determination. Or the fancy doctor I saw. But I got well.
Which brings me to my work in progress. It's a comedy. And from the outside, comedy can look "easy." When I read some of the derisive commentary on chick lit, for instance, it's easy to dismiss it. When you see a stand-up comic who makes you laugh, sometimes it seems as if all it is are easy riffs on life. You want a riff? Don't get me started on diapers and babies and spit-up.
Look at comedy at the Academy Awards. Usually snubbed in favor of the heavy dramas. Because comedians make it look too easy.
But as I write 350 pages of comedy, trying to be funny on every page, it's difficult. Lucille Ball was a shrewd businesswoman. She was a consummate comedienne who made us laugh--but it wasn't easy. It was art.
Comedy. I think it take finesse, wit, some natural grace. But I never work harder than when I write my comedies.
And there's something else too. In Diary of a Blues Goddess, I had a drag queen as the best friend to my heroine. It may have seemed like an easy laugh. Tall (over six feet tall), exaggerated mannerisms, a "queen," Dominique was funny. But, I also afforded her respect. For instance, "she" was always a "she." And without the quotation marks. She was a trannie who deserved that. And she had pathos, too. Because the flip side to comedy is often a dash of tragedy, and Dominique had her share of heartache. What about Life is Beautiful? The ultimate tragedy and comedy mixed together.
So how about you? Have you ever tried your hand at writing comedy? And what makes you laugh--books, movies, TV shows--out loud until your stomach hurts?
posted by Erica Orloff at 8:05 AM
11 Comments:
Comedy is tricky, because it's impossible to know with any certainty what's going to work. Especially for a novelist, whose work isn't truly tested until the book is published.
I go for comedic relief sometimes in my wip, which some people (with warped senses of humor like mine) might find funny. This paragraph from Chapter One:
The shower in an Airstream is slightly larger than a coffin. You have enough room to manipulate a razor and, if you’re skinny like me, wash your feet. Since I was out of shaving cream, I worked up some lather with a bar of Ivory and made do. I only cut myself about five hundred times. The white towel I stopped the hemorrhaging with looked like something out of a horror movie when I got through with it. I slapped on some aftershave and momentarily saw God.
I'm not really going for belly laughs here, maybe just a smile or the raise of an eyebrow.
I do like novels, TV shows, movies, etc, that add a touch of humor even though the subject matter might be quite dark overall. I thought Pulp Fiction, for example, was one of the funniest movies ever.
Sweet Pea . . .
I laughed at the "momentarily saw God" line.
The other thing with comedy is it is much more subjective than drama. Case in point, you may not LIKE a really heavy drama movie or play. You may run from a book like The Kite Runner because it's dark and heavy. You may loathe to sit through something that is just depressive, like Babel. BUT . . . very few would deny the quality of the film or the acting or the book. No one is likely to say, "That is a piece of dreck, horrible, etc." Just, "It was too depressing for me, but a powerful movie." On the flip side, something is either funny to YOU or not. And if you don't think it's funny, then the ENTIRE movie or book will not work for you. And it's so subjective. I know some people loved Shallow Hal. Critics were kind to it. I loathed it and had to stop watching. It just wasn't funny to me, the premise wasn't funny, the acting wasn't funny . . . nothing worked--because I didn't think the central joke was funny.
E
So true, Erica. Bosom Buddies is good example of a premise that killed an otherwise brilliant show. Kip and Henry were hilarious in their everyday world, but when they started hamming it up in drag...well, that part was just stupid to me. If the writers had ditched that awful premise and just let the characters be themselves, I think that show would have been a hit.
I don't usually care for books and movies that are labeled "comedies," although there are some exceptions (I thought Caddyshack was well done, and I used to LOL at some of Dave Barry's stuff). I usually prefer drama with a wry sense of humor. Hitchcock, for example.
Just saw Apacalyto. Intense suspense and violence, yet there were moments of comedy that allowed the audience to bond with the characters.
I did not watch the entire movie, Shallow Hal. Couldn't. Wouldn't. Refused to. Nope, not my cup of tea.
My critique partner's work features an unusual assistant whose activities are unpredictable and funny.
My current WIP features a ghost who visits with poltergeist activities at inopportune times.
The Closer has some excellent comedic slants, as does Medium. The intensity is balanced and strengthened by the added humor.
Okay, I finally figured out how to do this. For anyone having trouble posting here, you have to create a Google account and then sign in with your email address every time.
I'm probably the only dum dum, though. :)
Kathy:
I think The Closer's great strength, aside from the acting, is the humor and the depth of the characters--their contradictions.
E
I tend to go for more comic relief too in my writing because you're right. Being funny is hard work. I agree on the The Closer and Medium and Saved which I just loved. I think Adam Sandler is a genius but for the most part, I don't like slapstick.
Hi Amie:
I don't like slapstick either. I tend to like things like Notting Hill . . . watching repartee between characters--which is the kind of comedy that translates well to the page . . . and from page to screen.
E
I love putting in comic one-liners in my work, trouble is comedy is so personal - what one person finds funny another doesn't - it's inextricably linked to ones cultural background.....
OMG it let me post!!!!
Sara!
Welcome back!!!!
And yes, a lot of cultural elements to humor. Look at the movie Borat.
E
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