Am i getting too old for Comedy movies?

[Bells]

in a stroke of luck i got my hands on a couple of movies from the "old days" that i have many fond memories of.

I got Top Shots 1 and 2 and Robin Hood Men in Tights. And i already have Dracula Dead and Lovin'it

And i recall these movies being funny back then when i was little, but i got to watch like, the first 15 minutes of each... and man, these movies are funny. Like, actually, trully funny. I've spend most of my time giggling at visual jokes and puns between the big laughs of the set pieces and dialogue. It's awesome!

I just... don't recall most movies capturing that formula anymore... i Mean, i like the Occasional William Ferrel movie, Anchorman is hilarious! But not in the same... i guess the world would be "tempo", the Rhythm. Just like Jim carrey movies, Liar Liar is one of my favorite movies of all time and it's the one i recall most closely resembling those older movies.

What caught my eye though was two things... first that the older movies all had similar formulas on how they were made (4th wall breaking, Playing Straight to a ridiculous scene neve pointing or explaining the gag) and they were also released much closer together.

While the new movies try to "blend" with a realistic story more and more often, trying for something closer to the "absurd of real life", so you get something like a very incompetent guy trying manual work instead of the same guy changing a light bulb using just a flaming whip 'cause why the fuck not...

Overall, nowadays i find it harder and harder to actually see a comedy that grabs me for more than half a week

[Ecks]

I just watched the original Austin Powers for the first time in years last night with my girlfriend, who has never seen it. Man, it aged pretty well. Dr. Evil was a little more stiff (he hasn't had a sample of Austin's mojo, as Spy Who Shagged Me hasn't happened yet), and Austin was very clearly still stuck in 1967 (Mike Myers is a fantastic actor, really). But it still told its story well, and we both laughed our asses off.

No bells, I don't think you're too old for comedy. I think most comedy today is just really fucking stupid. I will make an exception for American Reunion though, it was very true to form for the series, topped itself (yes, it topped Stifler eating dog shit) and still managed to create out-of-genre feels. Jim is still the awkward fuck who gets himself in completely unbelievable situations, Oz is still stuck between appearing to be a jock-type yet actually being a softie at heart, Kevin is still... Kevin, and Stifler is DEFINITELY still Stifler (points to his boss for managing to be a huger asshole than he is, though). And holy fucking shit, outta nowhere Eugene Levy breaks out of 'awkward dad' material and excels at being funny outside of the "Now Jim..." formula.

I think maybe some people try too hard and other people just aren't looking at the good examples of what and what not to do in a comedy.

[CABAL49]

http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/angry-old-man1.jpg

Pictured: Bells

[Terex4]

I'm in the same boat. I never go to the movies anymore and I rarely pull up anything newer on Netflix. To be fair though, two of the movies you listed are Mel Brooks films and he's always had the comedy formula down.

[Lumenskir]

What caught my eye though was two things... first that the older movies all had similar formulas on how they were made (4th wall breaking, Playing Straight to a ridiculous scene neve pointing or explaining the gag) and they were also released much closer together.
Well, yeah, because you've watched four films between two directors at the higher end of their influence* who based their entire career on gag-a-minute parodic slapstick. It's sort of like saying "Man, Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, and Something About Mary all came out in the span of four years, how come we don't get a lot of that gross out absurd humor anymore?"

*Lower budget, higher concept parodies of popular franchises Division.

[Seil]

No.

You might, however, be too old for shitty comedies.

[Flarecobra]

You don't get too old for comidies, but perhaps your taste in humor has changed?

[Marc v4.0]

at least Trading Places will never get too old to be hilarious

[Professor Smarmiarty]

You should watch Wall Street.
It's pretty funny when you not crying.

[Menarker]

Unfortunately, popular opinion would seems to be that comedy inherently does not count as "good movies". (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ComedyGhetto)

[Ryong]

The last films that made me laugh out loud were Top Secret and Kung Pow, both of which I saw for the first time this year.

[Osterbaum]

A lot less movies have ever made me laugh out loud than TV shows. Monty Python comes to mind as the obvious example sort of exception, because they started with TV. As I guess quite a few comedic actors did.

[Lumenskir]

The last films that made me laugh out loud were Top Secret and Kung Pow, both of which I saw for the first time this year.
So is this a function of you not watching any other comedy movies, or do you generally watch a lot of comedy movies and these are the only recent ones you've liked?

[TDK]

No, movies have just gotten dumber, probably because of the internet and its influence on pop-culture culture. See: The Genre Movie franchise. Epic movie, Meet the Spartans, etc.

[Lumenskir]

No, movies have just gotten dumber, probably because of the internet and its influence on pop-culture culture. See: The Genre Movie franchise. Epic movie, Meet the Spartans, etc.
Again, those are all the work of 1-2 sets of creators. I mean, those guys need to be burned to death genitals first, but their output is in the minority of all comedy.

I think what people forget is that Sturgeon's Law is in effect throughout all of history but the canon needs time to filter.

[Mr.Bookworm]

I was searching for a funny image to represent nostalgia, but instead have a picture of Walker, Texas Ranger.

http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/80s-childhood-nostalgia-8.jpg?w=500&h=453

It's because you're filtering out the past twenty/thirty/forty/whatever years of absolutely terrible and mediocre comedies. If you take Mel Brooks, Austin Powers, Airplane, and every other comedy of the past that people actually liked as your entire sample, of course the current crop is going to look incredibly shitty.

But no one's going to remember Meet the Spartans in twenty years, just like no one remembers Look Who's Talking Now (released the same year as Men in Tights), while people will still probably be watching Anchorman or Death at a Funeral or whatever.

[Bells]

What pokes my funny bones here is that i try to think what comedies on the last 15 years we have that are still worth remembering for the next 15, and although i'm sure i'm forgetting some... it draws a blank.

[Lumenskir]

Starting from 1997, excluding Pixar movies and movies that are great but only tangentially comedy, we have this list of movies I could watch at any time...

Austin Powers
Liar Liar
Men in Black
Big Lebowski
There's Something About Mary
Bowfinger
Galaxy Quest
Election
Office Space
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Dude Where's My Car
Josie and the Pussycats
Wet Hot American Summer
Zoolander
Super Troopers
Elf
School of Rock
Anchorman
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Mean Girls
Team America World Police
40 Year Old Virgin
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Wedding Crashers
Beerfest
Borat
Talladega Nights
Shaun of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
Walk Hard
Superbad
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Tropic Thunder
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Black Dynamite

Plus a ton more, my research was basically looking at the list on Wikipedia for reference.

[Ryong]

So is this a function of you not watching any other comedy movies, or do you generally watch a lot of comedy movies and these are the only recent ones you've liked?

I haven't seen lots of comedy movies lately because it feels like looking for gold in the middle of crap.

It's not even nostalgia, just that it seemed easier to find good movies before.

[Lumenskir]

I haven't seen lots of comedy movies lately because it feels like looking for gold in the middle of crap.

It's not even nostalgia, just that it seemed easier to find good movies before.
Again, Sturgeon's Law. It's easier to 'find' good movies now because the crap has been forgotten leaving the things people actually want to treasure and preserve. When you're living in the middle of 90% of crap it seems like a hellhole, but that just means you have to actually make an effort to give the good 10% your money so that it can persevere.

[Ryong]

I honestly can't remember what shitty movies I saw.

Maybe because most shitty movies never even got to show up in Brazil but now everything is global so even shitty movies show up.

Edit: I mean fuck, I remember shitty movies of all kinds, but I can't remember shit comedy movies I saw when I was younger.

[Lumenskir]

I mean fuck, I remember shitty movies of all kinds, but I can't remember shit comedy movies I saw when I was younger.
Probably because, as you alluded to in the sentence before, the shitty movies weren't being shipped out as readily, hence you only saw the cream of the crop that was deemed suitable to ship. I mean, this is what I've been saying. Effectively, someone filtered out the 90% of crap and you saw the 10% good, thus you think the good was all that existed when in fact there was just as much crap as always.

[Nique]

Ultimately, we only remember the good stuff anyway. That's one filter, anyways.

[Amake]

I like to watch movies over and over, and I can tell you Hot Shots! parts one and deux are among the most rewatchable movies I've ever seen. I think I've seen each of them over a hundred times. Like a masterpiece song, they don't get old. Kind of comforting I think, cause no matter what they may do to comedy movies in the future, the classics aren't going to go away.

[Ryong]

Probably because, as you alluded to in the sentence before, the shitty movies weren't being shipped out as readily, hence you only saw the cream of the crop that was deemed suitable to ship. I mean, this is what I've been saying. Effectively, someone filtered out the 90% of crap and you saw the 10% good, thus you think the good was all that existed when in fact there was just as much crap as always.

Goddamnit stop misinterpreting me

I know there were shit comedy movies before I'm just saying I don't remember watching them!

[Lumenskir]

Goddamnit stop misinterpreting me

I know there were shit comedy movies before I'm just saying I don't remember watching them!
Sorry, the way I read it was "I remember almost every shitty movie I watched, and I don't remember shitty comedies from when I was younger, so there were no shitty movies when I was younger." I can see where I missaw.

The whole "Why isn't [entertainment] as good as it once was" reactionaryism is probably one of my biggest pet peeves, so I might have been a little overzealous.

[Bells]

Incidentally i just got my hands on the "Police Squad!" short series, just 6 Episodes, but still beats a ton of Sitcoms old and new

http://filmescomlegenda.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/0792166469.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_3-300x422.jpg

[Lumenskir]

_HWQt-w39HY

Best two-line dialogue exchange ever??

[Bells]

Even the credits in this show are awesome

A_3rJqHWYjs

[tacticslion]

at least Trading Places will never get too old to be hilarious

Part of what I find hilarious now is the ridiculous culture shift from that time. Also Eddie Murphy often in general.

But no one's going to remember Meet the Spartans in twenty years, just like no one remembers Look Who's Talking Now (released the same year as Men in Tights), while people will still probably be watching Anchorman or Death at a Funeral or whatever.
Hey. I remember Look Who's Talking Now. I mean, not well, but I remember it. :)
EDIT: also related, the Naked Gun movies.
Also: Oh, man, I forgot about the Police Squad. That's pretty great stuff.

Only tangentially related (by name), I also forgot about Police Academy until the conversation.

[Bells]

that's because a slew of bad movies sometimes has the power of negative the very few good ones