In honor of April Fool's Day I have decided for the entire month of April I will honor the great comedians and the art of comedy.
Comedy is my favorite movie genre. While I try to watch all different genres; musicals, drama, horror, sci-fi, silent, westerns and international films and I feel I know something about those genres the one I'm the most comfortable discussing is comedy. I consider myself a film buff but comedy is my specialty. Especially slapstick comedy.
Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. I've read articles which have suggested laughing every day can add 10 years to your life. The downside, it will cause lines around your mouth. But, that's a small price to pay for sheer pleasure. Comedy is also the hardest of the genres to write.
We can all connect to basic human emotions. Tragedy strikes us all. Make a movie about a dying mother and the effects it will have on her children and everyone will find it sad. But a man slipping on a banana peel is a required taste. We all find humor in different things. In my opinion it should be against the law to say a bad word about Charlie Chaplin, whom I view as the king of comedy. But some people I know have no appreciation for silent movies and do not like slapstick comedy. Too childish they say. Others may like more modern comedies such as movies with Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey or Mike Myers, I don't. But am I wrong and they're right? In their minds yes I am wrong. In my mind they are wrong. But it is all subjective.
Throughout the month I'll look at some of the great silent comedians and those from the early sound era. I'll probably go as modern as the 1970s with some of Woody Allen's films. But nothing past that. I have little interest in modern comedies. The most modern comedians I like are Garry Shandling, Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and Albert Brooks.
So lets pay the proper respect to comedies and honor the men and women who make us laugh!
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