Essential Elements of A Black Comedy

In this thread :http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=13663 there's quite a few disagreements on whether a film counts as black comedy or not, whether it fits into the definition.

For you, what are the essential elements that a good black comedy should have? And what are your own personal definitions for black comedy?

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

a black comedy = serious drama with mature humour..

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Do you mean 'mature humour' like 'adult humour' or like satirical humour?

I used the wrong word. I ment putting in some comedy , while at the same time , the moment's still dramatic.

'Black comedy or dark comedy is a sub-genre of comedy and satire in which topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo, are treated in an unusually humorous or satirical manner while retaining their seriousness'

The confusion has arises because people are failing to understand this sentence. The subject matter isn't just serious, marriage and relationships are serious, that doesn't make American Pie a black comedy, nearly all comedies feature a serious ideology of some sort to make the film meaningful/watchable and have a point.

The content must be taboo/prohibited/veto/restricted/off limits etc, just generally a film that features obscene context that is treated in an unusually humours way. Lord of War being a perfect example.

As I also mentioned in the other thread, some of the best feature narration by the lead, and this can be a good way to identify a potentially dark comedy. A comedic/sarcastic/ironic/derisive/sharp narration is usually the best way to capture an audience and help them connect and develop a relationship withe character. So if the subject matter is dark enough, it will generally be the building blocks of a dark comedy, Lord of War, Fight Club, American Beauty etc.

Sharp narration's a good one- I'd add Sunset Boulevard to that.

And I agree with you about the central misunderstanding. Black comedy tackles taboo subjects but instead of using a serious tone to present them, it twists our expectations and uses a comic one.

For me, a good black comedy should provoke guilty laughter and it should be willing to push the boundaries.

The Next Big Thing nailed it, but another simple way to think about it is whether or not you laughing at the jokes makes you think "I really shouldn't be laughing at this" and the same goes for the desert dry humor that's usually more present

Beheadings + Benny Hill Theme = Dark Comedy.

Death played for laughs is a biggie for a black comedy. Harold and Maude with its fake suicides, The Wrong Box with people trying to get money by outliving another person, Kind Hearts and Coronets where we root for the "hero" to kill all the people to exact revenge... these are all classic black comedies. Re: Sunset Blvd. - even the narrator is dead! (not a spoiler since it's the first scene.) The funeral of the chimp is just frosting on the cake.

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Films where Christian Bale, dressed in a raincoat, starts moon walking and gyrating his hips just before whacking Jared Leto in the face with an axe, count as black comedy. So yeah, what you guys said.

Makes you laugh at death (e.g Fargo)

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

Never seen Fargo.

jackie brown is a good one

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Michael Madsen speaking to me "Quentin is like a kid in a toy store, he has so much enthusiasm and when your working with him you know your working on something great"

My boyfriend loves it when Eddie Murphy talks so seriously in "Coming to America!"

I read somewhere that "dark" or "black" comedy is successful if it can maintain a tension between something that is serious with humor. As Alan Alda's character in Like poking fun at nuclear Armageddon in "Dr. Strangelove". In Strangelove Kubrik did not just poke fun at the military or of particular people. He created a tension by pushing the stated positions of people (particularly two air force generals) to their ultimate conclusion. He started out trying to make a serious film, but the more he pushed these two generals positions to their logical conclusion the funnier the film became. When he realized this he hired Terry Southern to help him write a comedy. (He also heard that someone else was making a serious drama on the same topic [Fail Safe] so that probably contributed to him moving the script into a comedy.)

I think the best dark comedies combine elements of farce with irony. I think Dr. Strangelove is the best because it does both and adds extreme suspense.

Halloween.

I love the part where the kid spends his whole life in a mental hospital, escapes, and knows how to drive. Too funny.

Think gallows humor.