What happened to teen comedies? (Also a Top 5/10 thread?)

[OhioG]

8 hours ago, animaltested said:

The whole "where's comedy" nonsense is dumb. Bunch of dullards angry they cant punch down or use shock comedy as a crutch. Comedians like John Mulaney, Ali Wong and Hasan Minhaj have been able to thrive in this comedic climate just fine. 

Thank you. The Venn Diagram of People who think 'comedy is under attack from PC culture'  and 'those who think making fun of mentally disabled kids is hilarious' is a single circle

There are plenty of good comedy shows out there. The problem is that comedy as a movie genre is hard to do. It requires great screenplay as well as great comedy. The first one is hard enough alone.

The sheer fact that people in this thread consider American pie series as great movies should remind everyone teen comedy is very era specific and limited to what the kids of the day think is hilarious. Yes if you thought it was funny as a kid, usually nostalgia will probably help you remember it more fondly.

[MacReady]

I’m also not a believer in comedy being dead because it’s afraid of offending people.  Some of the least offensive movies are the funniest.  Blazing Saddles is one of the most offensive movies ever, and purposefully so, but it wasn’t funny.  I didn’t laugh once at that movie.

Comedy is dead for the reasons I mentioned and also because they think one Schlick is funny so they use it to the point of nausea.  Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler are funny for 4 movies.  Then they’re not funny anymore.  They both have the ability to be funny if they stepped outside of their comfort zones, but they play the same exact character in every movie.  

[43M]

10 hours ago, animaltested said:

The whole "where's comedy" nonsense is dumb. Bunch of dullards angry they cant punch down or use shock comedy as a crutch. Comedians like John Mulaney, Ali Wong and Hasan Minhaj have been able to thrive in this comedic climate just fine. 

Even though tons of comedians have commented on how bad the comedy landscape has gotten.   

Im sure you think Amy Schumer is funny too.

Edited July 29, 2020 by 43M

[43M]

1 hour ago, OhioG said:

Thank you. The Venn Diagram of People who think 'comedy is under attack from PC culture'  and 'those who think making fun of mentally disabled kids is hilarious' is a single circle

Lumping everyone into that category shows how clueless you really are, but having seen other posts you've made, Im not surprised.

There are TONS of iconic comedians including Chappelle, Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Ricky Gervais, Pete Davidson, etc....who have come out and talked about how comedy today has been largely neutered because of the thin skinned, soy generation who look for every reason to get offended and cry on Twitter.   Many of the comedians saying these things aren't "shock comics", but they also realize that comedy has to be be fearless to be truly funny.  When you constantly have to think "Is this going to offend any p....y SJW's?", you are already handcuffing your comedy.

Yes....some decent comedy still survives today, but sure as hell isnt THRIVING like it used to.   And much of the decent comedy that is out there is survival IN SPITE of the PC culture you like to act isnt an issue.

Thanks, but Ill trust the assessments of numerous legendary comedians over a guy Ive seen defend PC garbage several times.

 

[OhioG]

2 hours ago, 43M said:

Lumping everyone into that category shows how clueless you really are, but having seen other posts you've made, Im not surprised.

There are TONS of iconic comedians including Chappelle, Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Ricky Gervais, Pete Davidson, etc....who have come out and talked about how comedy today has been largely neutered because of the thin skinned, soy generation who look for every reason to get offended and cry on Twitter.   Many of the comedians saying these things aren't "shock comics", but they also realize that comedy has to be be fearless to be truly funny.  When you constantly have to think "Is this going to offend any p....y SJW's?", you are already handcuffing your comedy.

Yes....some decent comedy still survives today, but sure as hell isnt THRIVING like it used to.   And much of the decent comedy that is out there is survival IN SPITE of the PC culture you like to act isnt an issue.

Thanks, but Ill trust the assessments of numerous legendary comedians over a guy Ive seen defend PC garbage several times.

Standards are rising. Comedy that punches down is off the table. Greatness will shine through. Pressure creates diamonds. 

Chappelle is still crushing it. I mean his whole 'he rapes but he saves' is def not PC approved.

Bill Burr and Seinfeld's entire schitch is people suck let me complain about it. Seinfeld at least is clever AF.

I can see Burr struggling. A huge chunk of his comedy is he just makes an observation and calls someone some slur. Bill Burr is the perfect example of a guy whose comedy is not at all daring. He plays on the same old tried tropes.

But seeing as how you want to rely on legends, Seinfeld himself said too many comics are cranking out stuff too quickly and the quality is suffering. You talk about how comedy was thriving back then but honestly how frequently was stuff released. Outside of Richard Pryor and Cosby, they werent releasing things on the regular. You had concentrated bursts. One set every couple years. Limited amounts of people rising to the top. 

The state of comedy is today multifactorial. Has it become harder, sure. But given that good comedians are coming up shows that old timers are doing what alot of old timers in every field do, which is **** on change. Today there are other factors like the volume of people getting exposure. Its hard to be original. And lastly, comedy is very different for every person. I personally find comics who can weave a narrative way better than those who cant. Louis CK has some bangers but I get bored trying to sit through his sets.  

I still believe Comedy is thriving. I've seen so much great standup from non big names. The only thing is, nowadays its fragmented. You gotta put some more effort into finding it. We are seeing comedians dipping into personal experiences way more than before and thats really bringing new takes and jokes that we didnt get from the old generation which was so heavy on being misanthropes.

[Ozzy]

8 hours ago, Outpost31 said:

I’m also not a believer in comedy being dead because it’s afraid of offending people.  Some of the least offensive movies are the funniest.  Blazing Saddles is one of the most offensive movies ever, and purposefully so, but it wasn’t funny.  I didn’t laugh once at that movie.

Really?  There were a few very funny scenes in that film, overall sure nothing great as a film and a lot of dead parts but even when Mongo knocks out the horse, that is pretty damn funny to me and that fart scene is simply classic.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[biggio7]

10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club (comedy/drama mix), Easy A, Superbad, American Pie, She's All That, Can't Hardly Wait

[MacReady]

2 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Really?  There were a few very funny scenes in that film, overall sure nothing great as a film and a lot of dead parts but even when Mongo knocks out the horse, that is pretty damn funny to me and that fart scene is simply classic.

I could admit that objectively it's funny, but just not my type of funny.  I prefer Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, and even Dracula: Dead and Loving It. 

Hated Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Blazing Saddles personally. 

[scar988]

On 7/27/2020 at 8:22 AM, MikeT14 said:

I was having this conversation with my wife this weekend. Every decade, I feel like we had gems of teen comedies - raunchy, romantic, whatever - that were great. Thinking back to the 2010's, I feel like they were few and far between. Even then, the majority of them were in the early part of the decade. Lady Bird, Blockers, Scott Pilgrim were all solid additions, but the decade as a whole was poor. What happened? I feel like generally these do well to recoup at the box office. 

Also, what are your Top 5 or 10? 

In no real order, here's 8:

American Pie, Fast Times, Superbad, Clueless, Ferris Bueller, Dazed and Confused, 10 Things I Hate About You, Can't Hardly Wait

Check netflix. There's a ton of them on Netflix.

[scar988]

10 hours ago, 43M said:

When you constantly have to think "Is this going to offend any p....y SJW's?",

 

Let's keep politics out of the forum, my dude.

[scar988]

7 hours ago, OhioG said:

Standards are rising. Comedy that punches down is off the table. Greatness will shine through. Pressure creates diamonds. 

Chappelle is still crushing it. I mean his whole 'he rapes but he saves' is def not PC approved.

Bill Burr and Seinfeld's entire schitch is people suck let me complain about it. Seinfeld at least is clever AF.

I can see Burr struggling. A huge chunk of his comedy is he just makes an observation and calls someone some slur. Bill Burr is the perfect example of a guy whose comedy is not at all daring. He plays on the same old tried tropes.

But seeing as how you want to rely on legends, Seinfeld himself said too many comics are cranking out stuff too quickly and the quality is suffering. You talk about how comedy was thriving back then but honestly how frequently was stuff released. Outside of Richard Pryor and Cosby, they werent releasing things on the regular. You had concentrated bursts. One set every couple years. Limited amounts of people rising to the top. 

The state of comedy is today multifactorial. Has it become harder, sure. But given that good comedians are coming up shows that old timers are doing what alot of old timers in every field do, which is **** on change. Today there are other factors like the volume of people getting exposure. Its hard to be original. And lastly, comedy is very different for every person. I personally find comics who can weave a narrative way better than those who cant. Louis CK has some bangers but I get bored trying to sit through his sets.  

I still believe Comedy is thriving. I've seen so much great standup from non big names. The only thing is, nowadays its fragmented. You gotta put some more effort into finding it. We are seeing comedians dipping into personal experiences way more than before and thats really bringing new takes and jokes that we didnt get from the old generation which was so heavy on being misanthropes.

Completely agree. There's a ton of comedy out there. But it's not punching down like it used to.

[jetsfan4life51]

American Pie still holds up to this day and is just as funny to me as a 30 year old than when I was a teen.  It's a shame they don't make them how they used to.  

Now you watch something it may be funny but second time through it's meh.

[Ozzy]

1 hour ago, Outpost31 said:

I could admit that objectively it's funny, but just not my type of funny.  I prefer Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, and even Dracula: Dead and Loving It. 

Hated Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Blazing Saddles personally. 

 

 

Yes comedy is very subjective, Blazing Saddles had only a few funny parts but Robin Hood Men in Tights to me was littered with great jokes, I thought it was a riot and is easier the funniest of those two films.  Spaceballs I never could really see that as some great comedy and  did not find it that funny at all. 

[Fresh Prince]

3 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

American Pie still holds up to this day and is just as funny to me as a 30 year old than when I was a teen.  It's a shame they don't make them how they used to.  

Now you watch something it may be funny but second time through it's meh.

Agreed still enjoy them to this day and I’m in my early 30s

[Ray Reed]

On 7/28/2020 at 2:41 PM, animaltested said:

The whole "where's comedy" nonsense is dumb. Bunch of dullards angry they cant punch down or use shock comedy as a crutch. Comedians like John Mulaney, Ali Wong and Hasan Minhaj have been able to thrive in this comedic climate just fine. 

this is a very seattle answer lol, well done