(no subject)
I've seen Scott Pilgrim vs. the World controversy, which is pretty astounding, because the movie is a visual treat, but not really worth the crusade on either side. Fans take dislike too personally, and haters are vexed the film even exists. Of course, this isn't anything new, but I do see back and forth arguments about the traits of the main character who, to put it gently, is a consummate ne'er do well. Less gently, he habitually treats his closest like crap, without even meaning to. But once again, I always find it strange when people point at a comedy and wonder aloud where all the heroes have gone.
I was actually thinking of comedy protagonists who are not dicks, and I have been scratching my head over it. From all gender demographics and time periods, it seems everything from Sabrina to Ferris Bueller's Day Off is driven by some kind of sociopathy from the main characters. (In fact, looking at some films in the 70's, playing the field was treated as a right for male characters, never mind being called on it) I think the reason so many times a comedic character is an as is because of the nature of comedy...a lot of comedy is about failure. And failure is less funny to someone who doesn't deserve it as much, and we're bound to have less pratfalls from somebody with less shit between their ears. When Al Franken took his Saturday Night Live character to theaters with Staurt Saves His Family, we got a heartrending and affirming movie...that was not very funny for most of it. A lot of it was discomfort as the main character timidly tried to do the right thing and was unable to control his family falling apart. If the character is not flawed enough, it cuts down storytelling possibilities. I mean, one of the longest-lived and most beloved sitcoms had, as its main character, a complete bigot.
There is one major exception...if you can't make your main character a bit of an ass, you have to dull their senses. Maybe they're dumb as a brick. Maybe they been so entrenched in their subculture and life of leisure they've never applied their hidden genius. (Cluelesse, Bill& Ted's Excellent Adventure.) Maybe they're simply so divorced from civilization, they're given some kind of good-natured naivete. (George of the Jungle, Lil' Abner.) You get leads with more moral character, but if not done right can smack of anti-intellectualism, and can attract people who take it at face value, both pro and con side. (If you think hipster-hate is powerful, surfers was totally seen as cultural Armageddon. As it was, we just moved onto something else.) Of course, sometimes you have something like Biodome where they're both airheaded and jerks, but you need a bit more skill and a lot of audacity to pull that off.
I was actually thinking of comedy protagonists who are not dicks, and I have been scratching my head over it. From all gender demographics and time periods, it seems everything from Sabrina to Ferris Bueller's Day Off is driven by some kind of sociopathy from the main characters. (In fact, looking at some films in the 70's, playing the field was treated as a right for male characters, never mind being called on it) I think the reason so many times a comedic character is an as is because of the nature of comedy...a lot of comedy is about failure. And failure is less funny to someone who doesn't deserve it as much, and we're bound to have less pratfalls from somebody with less shit between their ears. When Al Franken took his Saturday Night Live character to theaters with Staurt Saves His Family, we got a heartrending and affirming movie...that was not very funny for most of it. A lot of it was discomfort as the main character timidly tried to do the right thing and was unable to control his family falling apart. If the character is not flawed enough, it cuts down storytelling possibilities. I mean, one of the longest-lived and most beloved sitcoms had, as its main character, a complete bigot.
There is one major exception...if you can't make your main character a bit of an ass, you have to dull their senses. Maybe they're dumb as a brick. Maybe they been so entrenched in their subculture and life of leisure they've never applied their hidden genius. (Cluelesse, Bill& Ted's Excellent Adventure.) Maybe they're simply so divorced from civilization, they're given some kind of good-natured naivete. (George of the Jungle, Lil' Abner.) You get leads with more moral character, but if not done right can smack of anti-intellectualism, and can attract people who take it at face value, both pro and con side. (If you think hipster-hate is powerful, surfers was totally seen as cultural Armageddon. As it was, we just moved onto something else.) Of course, sometimes you have something like Biodome where they're both airheaded and jerks, but you need a bit more skill and a lot of audacity to pull that off.