To begin our discussion, we thought it useful to look at some basic elements of Slapstick comedy, to truly familiarize our audience with the intricate components of the practice. Slapstick comedy revolves around physical comedy and hyperbolic reactions. The actor conveys the humor of a scene through exaggerated movements and typically silly behavior. The elements of slapstick are never subtle and act outside of the story to provide comic relief to the audience.
In Slapstick comedy a simple trip is one of the most fundamental elements. One of the most classic comedic products was the tripping and falling on a banana peel. First seen in stand up acts, the banana peel gag made its way to film in Charlie Chaplin’s movie By The Sea. Charlie Chaplin’s character, in his famous “The Tramp,” was famous for using elements of Slapstick comedy. The banana peel gag was used throughout the decades and eventually even in Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison, a prime example of modern day slapstick.
In addition to comparing the elements of slapstick in classic age and modern age cinema, we will compare the reviews of the movies we are mentioning in order to show possible degradation in the critical appeal of slapstick comedy.
By the Sea does not have any formal reviews but is said to have been met with critical success. As for Billy Madison a review at the Washington Post writes, “That's not to say that this moronic movie is altogether free of comedic mishaps involving the lower gastrointestinal tract." As one character tells Billy in the finale: "Everyone in this room is dumber for having listened to you."
Another element of slapstick is exaggerated violence, which can be seen in most work performed by the Three Stooges. The use of farcical eye pokes, head bops, face slaps, and the frustrated over reactions of the victims landed the three stooges a place in film history and had audiences laughing for years with the same physical gags. Comparatively, there is the physical comedy of Chris Farley, who is himself regarded highly, however the films in which he performed his exaggerated violence (usually upon himself) were often critical failures. Chris Farley had a penchant for smashing into tables and using breakaway props to produce his brand of slapstick comedy. Famously, in his SNL skit “Down by the River” Farley dove face first into the table, echoing back to Chaplin’s, The Gold Rush. In this silent era film, the Tramp successfully lands a date and proceeds to tear apart his little cabin, shredding pillows, breaking tables and chairs. The elements of slapstick are used in both scenes to create an abnormal reaction to normal occurrences perhaps making slapstick comedy a form of escapism for the audience watching the film.
A final element used commonly in slapstick is pieing which is the classic ‘pie in the face’ gag. This was first seen in 1909 Essany Studios silent film Mr. Flip starring Ben Turpin. It’s been used endlessly throughout the decades, recently it’s been used in the movie Airplane! as well in the TV show Parks and Recreation. The modern use of basic slapstick gags is helpful to reinvent seemingly fundamental comedic elements. The use of these different slapstick gags pay homage to the original comedies as well as providing comedic relief. Sometimes the use of these rudimentary elements can be critically cheapen the movie (Tommy Boy, Norbit, Jack and Jill) but when done right they can still garnish audience laughs and critical praise (Seinfield, Airplane).
There is more than mere laughter in "The Gold Rush." Back of it, masked by ludicrous situations, is something of the comedian's early life—the hungry days in London, the times when he was depressed by disappointments, the hopes, his loneliness and the adulation he felt for successful actors. It is told with a background of the Klondike, and one can only appreciate the true meaning of some of the incidents by translating them mentally from the various plights in which the pathetic little Lone Prospector continually finds himself. It is as much a dramatic story as a comedy.
In Slapstick comedy a simple trip is one of the most fundamental elements. One of the most classic comedic products was the tripping and falling on a banana peel. First seen in stand up acts, the banana peel gag made its way to film in Charlie Chaplin’s movie By The Sea. Charlie Chaplin’s character, in his famous “The Tramp,” was famous for using elements of Slapstick comedy. The banana peel gag was used throughout the decades and eventually even in Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison, a prime example of modern day slapstick.
In addition to comparing the elements of slapstick in classic age and modern age cinema, we will compare the reviews of the movies we are mentioning in order to show possible degradation in the critical appeal of slapstick comedy.
By the Sea does not have any formal reviews but is said to have been met with critical success. As for Billy Madison a review at the Washington Post writes, “That's not to say that this moronic movie is altogether free of comedic mishaps involving the lower gastrointestinal tract." As one character tells Billy in the finale: "Everyone in this room is dumber for having listened to you."
Another element of slapstick is exaggerated violence, which can be seen in most work performed by the Three Stooges. The use of farcical eye pokes, head bops, face slaps, and the frustrated over reactions of the victims landed the three stooges a place in film history and had audiences laughing for years with the same physical gags. Comparatively, there is the physical comedy of Chris Farley, who is himself regarded highly, however the films in which he performed his exaggerated violence (usually upon himself) were often critical failures. Chris Farley had a penchant for smashing into tables and using breakaway props to produce his brand of slapstick comedy. Famously, in his SNL skit “Down by the River” Farley dove face first into the table, echoing back to Chaplin’s, The Gold Rush. In this silent era film, the Tramp successfully lands a date and proceeds to tear apart his little cabin, shredding pillows, breaking tables and chairs. The elements of slapstick are used in both scenes to create an abnormal reaction to normal occurrences perhaps making slapstick comedy a form of escapism for the audience watching the film.
A final element used commonly in slapstick is pieing which is the classic ‘pie in the face’ gag. This was first seen in 1909 Essany Studios silent film Mr. Flip starring Ben Turpin. It’s been used endlessly throughout the decades, recently it’s been used in the movie Airplane! as well in the TV show Parks and Recreation. The modern use of basic slapstick gags is helpful to reinvent seemingly fundamental comedic elements. The use of these different slapstick gags pay homage to the original comedies as well as providing comedic relief. Sometimes the use of these rudimentary elements can be critically cheapen the movie (Tommy Boy, Norbit, Jack and Jill) but when done right they can still garnish audience laughs and critical praise (Seinfield, Airplane).
There is more than mere laughter in "The Gold Rush." Back of it, masked by ludicrous situations, is something of the comedian's early life—the hungry days in London, the times when he was depressed by disappointments, the hopes, his loneliness and the adulation he felt for successful actors. It is told with a background of the Klondike, and one can only appreciate the true meaning of some of the incidents by translating them mentally from the various plights in which the pathetic little Lone Prospector continually finds himself. It is as much a dramatic story as a comedy.
Charlie Chaplin in By The Sea (1915) and The Gold Rush (1925)
Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin's pictures, as it has more thought and originality than even such masterpieces of mirth as "The Kid" and "Shoulder Arms."
Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin's pictures, as it has more thought and originality than even such masterpieces of mirth as "The Kid" and "Shoulder Arms."
Billy Madison (1995)
"Those unfamiliar with Sandler’s antics may also begin to find him annoying sometime between the appearance of the Universal logo and the end of the opening credits" (Lowry, 1995).
"Those unfamiliar with Sandler’s antics may also begin to find him annoying sometime between the appearance of the Universal logo and the end of the opening credits" (Lowry, 1995).
"Pie In The Face" Gag