Losing the magic touch

First of all, this post absolutely does not refer to anything sexual (ok, maybe a little. I have a slight crush on Bret McKenzie from FOTC). What I’m talking about is the freshness and originality of a new comedy group/person/skit/show/whatever it may be – the spark that allows them to jump into the comedy scene. Yet, when season two rolls around, they suddenly don’t seem as funny anymore. What happened? Where’s the originality that got you hooked in the first place? Were they brainwashed? Lobotomy? Run headfirst into a brick wall? Did they watch an episode of The Wire? (I kid, I kid). Let’s discuss.

Being funny is difficult. Being in the spotlight is difficult. Putting the two together leads me to understand John Belushi’s drug addiction. It’s amazing to be discovered, to be able to make an audience of more than just your family laugh till it hurts. The Flight of the Conchords, a folk comedy duo from New Zealand made up of Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, took off in the States with their first season. Their show followed the boys as they tried to make it into the music industry after moving to New York City. What was so intriguing were several hilarious aspects that they played into very well.

1) The simple fact that they are so unsuccessful – they rent a tiny apartment in Brooklyn that has little/no furniture. They can hardly afford food and in one episode, Bret comes home with groceries and a sandwich he discovered on the sidewalk (which Jermaine eats anyways).

2) They are from New Zealand and are constantly mistaken for being English. (“Yeah, my name’s Bret.” “Brit? Brit? Like Brittney?” “Uh, no. B-R-E-T.” “Oh Bret…I like your English accent.”)

3) Bret and Jermaine write and incorporate original music into their shows, talking about anything from The Lord of the Rings (Frodo, Don’t Wear The Ring) to living in the city (Inner City Pressure) to hitting on a girl (Most Beautiful Girl In The Room).

4) They make references to David Bowie. That’s automatically awesome.

5) The Flight of the Conchords has one lone fan, a woman named Mel who makes her own FOTC t-shirts and makes sure she attends all of their performances. She is their biggest fan and fawns over them much like a 13 year old drools over N’SYNC. Mel is also married, which only makes it funnier.

Their early material is amazingly funny. However, the end of their first season wasn’t as funny. I felt as though they were trying too hard, as though they were unable to keep the momentum of their comedy consistent. And now they are working on Season Two, which I’m slightly hesitant to watch. I don’t want to be put off by material that has been forced out of them, with the sole purpose of having a second season. That’s what I believe happens – material is squeezed out of these comedians in order to stay on the air. Creativity is something that CANNOT be forced. However, the want to remain in the comedy spotlight is such a powerful force. And I don’t blame them – it’s incredibly difficult to become a recognized name in comedy. It’s understandable to want to hold onto that success that you worked hard for. But this also comes down to what are your priorities – the limelight or the quality of the material? This brings me to Dave Chappelle, who stepped down from his own show on Comedy Central because of the quality of his material. I find it admirable that he backed out of this amazing situation that so many people would kill for because he felt that what he was producing was not what he wanted. It came down to the quality of his work, which is a sight so many have lost focus on.

Smart Writing

Just out of curiosity, how many people watch an episode of the Simpsons and then watch it again with the commentary? I know that’s how a few different friends and I spend our Friday nights…we’re writers and people who appreciate the genius behind good quality comedy that goes beyond visual humor.

Anyways, after re-watching a Simpsons episode (4th season, of course. It’s when Conan O’Brien signed on.) I realized that good comedy, I mean, good screen writing is extreme intelligence in a flashy package. To tweak a real concept into an exaggeration requires one to really think outside of the box.

One of the best examples I can think of is not a favorite episode of the Simpsons or South Park, but rather the children’s t.v. show SpongeBob SquarePants. Steven Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob, graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation with an emphasis on marine biology. After three years of teaching marine biology at a different university, he pursued a master’s degree in experimental animation at CalArts. A nautical sponge that lives in a pineapple? A crab with a whale for a daughter? A plankton that wants to steal the recipe for hamburgers? All of these ideas came from this same marine biologist? You bet your Krabby Patties they did.

To be able to take regular, everyday notions and present them with a new perspective takes skill and creativity.  It doesn’t happen overnight, and there are plenty of funny concepts that overshoot the ’smart’ funny idea or fall flat because it is too dumbed down.  Hopefully, more people like Steven Hillenburg, Matt Groening, Trey Parker and Matt Stone will be around to not only make us laugh, but to make us think.

Going too far

 

     How far is going to far?  In comedy, there’s a fine line between a brilliant line and appearing to be a complete asshole in front of an audience.  Personally, I find this specific area interesting because it cannot be clearly defined AND it differs for neither man nor woman. 

There’s a trait among comedy writers – GOOD comedy writers – that really allows them to do what they do best.  Every single one of them has a shameless dark side, an ability to make a joke in the darkest of situations.  The best example I can think of comes from an interview with Tina Fey I once read.  In it, she stated that the very next day following Steve Irwin’s death, she walked into the Saturday Night Live writers room “…and people were already cracking jokes about it.”  While jokes and cracks like that obviously wouldn’t make it onto the air, it’s that perspective on everything that gives comedy writers that ability to be funny. 

What do we decide is offensive and what is simply a joke?  Can we laugh at a one liner about K-Fed but frown on a joke about Barak Obama?  Is there a way to tell what is considered ‘going too far’?  Sensitive subjects vary from person to person, but in general include deaths, tragic accidents, funerals and other various situations where things are not the best….for a set amount of time.  There is such a thing as bringing up the subject too soon, where audiences are not yet ready to laugh at things like Hurricane Katrina.  I’m not sure what the time limit is, but once the green light is on, it’s like shopping at Target the day after Thanksgiving – an absolute flood.

This whole issue of whether or not one’s joke is crossing the line is all part of the package of being a writer.  It’s a constant learning experience, and one that you can only learn from trial and error…hopefully, not so much error.  Otherwise, you might not be such a successful writer.