One of the weird things about bad comedies is that they all have some very similar scenes. It’s difficult to understand why this is, but here’s a handy checklist to keep yourself entertained when watching a film that is not very entertaining. Not every one of these is necessarily bad, but for some reason they all show up in very bad movies.
-Inspirational speech. The ending will often have a main character giving a big speech about all the lessons they’ve learned. The strange thing is that this often shows up in movies for adults, as though we need life lessons even though we’re all grown up.
-Wife as obstacle. The wives in bad comedies aren’t really characters, they exist to complicate life for the main character in some way, usually by calling them and nagging them about something. Sometimes they get kidnapped. Rarely do they get any jokes or anything to do.
-Couple’s counselling. Often part of “wife as obstacle,” the main character and his obstacle wife will, inevitably, have to go to couples counselling, or have an argument about it. One begins to wonder if one person is behind all of these comedies, and why they have written so many movies about their disastrous marriage.
-Vacation destination setting. Popularized by Adam Sandler, the vacation destination setting is a way for actors to get a free vacation for their family while shooting a movie. This is why so many bad comedies are in lovely sunny locations.
-Dance party ending. What says fun like a dance party? Extra points if the song used is something very old and a bit cheesy. It used to be disco hits but we’re moving into ‘80s dance as well, pretty soon someone’s going to bring back Deee-Lite - if they haven’t already.
-Male nudity. Nothing’s funnier than a naked man!
-Curly hair. Except for curly hair! This one is baffling, but if there’s a bad comedy, someone will have curly hair, the hair of comedy.
-Scene in a high school gymnasium. This makes no sense but bad comedies often hit high school gymnasiums at a disproportionate rate.
-Big punch. An antagonist is going to get punched, often by the main character. It can be used effectively in good movies - Back to the Future, for example, earns its big punch - but most of the time the big punch is just there because antagonists must be punched.
-Interminable improvisation. Have a bad script? There’s an easy solution, get your comedian to just improvise until you have some jokes. Have a truly abysmal script? Don’t cut a single line of that improvisation. Maybe splice in some other actors laughing, because if the other actors are laughing that means the audience is laughing too, maybe.
-Blooper reel. Sure, none of the jokes in the movie were funny, but maybe this footage of actors laughing at each other is!
-Look! A famous person! A cameo by a celebrity plays a pivotal role in the film, sometimes even wrapping up the entire plot thanks to their mere existence. Sometimes playing a character, sometimes playing themselves, the famous person in question is revered by all the characters, even though they are also famous people in real life.
-Follow your dreams! The moral of the story is that everyone should follow their dreams, even in movies made for adults. Maybe we’re grown ups and don’t need a moral about following our dreams, huh?
-Presentations, presentations, presentations. A bad workplace comedy will always be about characters getting ready for a presentation. Even if their job doesn’t seem like it should have anything to do with presentations.
-Animal reaction shot. Because when even a dog knows the situation is awkward, you know it’s awkward.
-Testicular trauma. If you’re in a bad comedy, a man’s most private area is going to get irreparably harmed.
What are some other bad comedy trademarks?
