I learned something from the last one week writing exercise, and that is, I am not very good at writing comedy, so I was wondering and hoping if there is some who could help me with it.  I know a lot of comedy is about timing and the actors, but I wanna know how to write more than shit and fart humour.  I am not what you call a very funny person, the laughs I usually get is when I say or do something stupid, so like people laugh at me not with me.  I would really love to get better at this, I would like to beable to add humour to my scripts, even if it's not a comedy, but at least to beable to put a funny scene in once in a while that doesn't incolve bodily fluids.  So if someone would like to help me I would really love it, I don't know what I could do in return, but I would do my damndest.

You could try reading a few Comedy Scripts.  Mike has some good ones and I just put one up.

I have read some, and mike is funny, but I don't wanna copy, I kinda wanna know if there is a way in which you write it, like a certian style, I know this is hard to explain...LOL, I kinda wanna know the techniques, stuff like that.  I wish I could word it better

One thing you could do if you are as not funny as you say you are, would be to carry around a little pocket notebook.  When you hear soemthign funny, write it down.    We hear a lot of funny things in a day, and eventually you would find something that is both funny and works in your script.

Another thing you could do is read a comedy dcript, find what makes you laugh, and really think about it.  Why did it make you laugh?  Take the answer to that question and use it to form a joke in your own script.

You could also combine the two.  Write a funny thing you heard down in the notebook, ask yourself why it was funny, and use the answer to the question in your script.

Lots of Comedy comes from a characters personality, and how a character relates with another character.  You could create a "Game" (improv term) for charcters, which basically means that they always do something, and repitition tends to be funny. Perhaps have one character always mess up old sayings, that becomes his game.  Another character could always be finding things that another character lost, then having to return them, this could be their game.

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Edit: Another example of a "game" would be in my scripts "The Search for the Great American Jeackelope" the Character Patch is always eating while he drives the motorcycle.  It becomes a game and the audience is wondering "What will he eat next?" and it is funny.  It even ended up helping the script along.

Another example of a "Game" would be in mikes script "The Hero of Her Heart" there is a charcter that keeps making sexual inuendos about juggling his balls without realizing that he is making them.  This is funny.

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does any of this help?

Thanks Higgs, that does help, my problem is that just because I find it funny will others.  Here's an example.

the other day I was looking through the paper and I came across the obituaries and I saw the d.o.b of one of the people and it was like 1908, and I was like this guy is really old, so I read the collum and it said John Smith(not his real name) died suddenly at the age of98, and I was like SUDDENLY, who dies suddenly at 98 at, it's a miricle he lived that long.  Now I felt kinda bad laughing at this cause I'm sure he was a good man with lots of kids, and grand kids, and great grand kids, and great great grand kids, hell he probably voted for Lincon, but I laughed and I felt bad.

another example. If you happened to read my short "The wrong guy", there is a story in there about a guy who hooks up with a tranny.  Now that was a true story of this older guy that I worked with.  He told it to me and I laughed so hard.  he was only a kid at the time, like 16, and he didn't kill it, but still I thought it was funny so I put it in the script, and that seemed to be the part that people thought was the most funny, so I guess what you say is true, "write down what you hear is funny"

but most of what I am in contact with is toilet humour considering my age group and the age of the people I hang around, like some of the stuff I hear and say makes the aristocrats joke seem like an episode of the Andy Griffith show, and I'm talking about the most vile disgusting things you have ever EVER heard.

that game idea seems like a good idea, I think I will try that.  anyways thanks again.

PS:  how was your 16 BD party, I remember mine(wasn't too long ago), can't really said what I did or I would be banned from this site, but I don't do any of that stuff anymore, well atleast most of it, one of them I do on a daily basis, but it wasn't a bad thing.  Anywasy, I hope it was fun.

When I write comedy, I basically write what I believe to be funny, what I would laugh at if I were reading it for the first time or watching it on tv or in a theater.  To me, it's just like anything else. People are going to think it's funny, and others are going to think it's dumb.

Basically, just realize that no matter what you write, there are always going to be people who don't like it, who don't "get it".

In your first post you said something about people laughing at you, and not with you.  Use it!  If you can create some goofball character that the other characters in your script laugh at, the audience will laugh with you.  Jeez that almost doesn't make any sense at all.  It basically boils down to Higgs' comment on Johnny Juggler.  He had no idea what he was saying, the other characters were laughing at him, and in turn he was probably the most popular character in the script.

The 98 year old man?  Could be funny, but that would take some witty dialogue.

If you need any help with anything, I'd be glad to assist.

Thanks Mike, I would love assistance.  Like things I have seen that are funny are like, there was this lady I saw taking her dog for a walk and she had a maxie pad taped to it.  I one time saw this old couple(like in their 80's) pull into a parking lot in like an oldsmobile or somehting(an old person's car basically) and EMENEM was blasting from the radio.  Then there are personal things that have happened to me that were funny, not at the time, but now that I look back they were, like the time in 3rd grade I pulled a "there's something about mary" and got myself caught in my zipper and my teacher had to get me out, then there was another time when I was 13, and I thought I was alone, and I was doing what all teenage boys do and my mom walked in on me.  Then there was the time I lost my virginity(now that was funny, not then, but now)

should I put things like that in the script, like true stories, just make them larger than life, or more real so that people would identify more with it.  anyways, i would like to try and write a comedy short and any help would be appriciated.

Definitely.  It is always better to write what you know.  Now this is just me talking, but if I saw a dog walking along with a maxipad taped to it, I'd laugh my ass off.  Same goes with the old people in the car.  The trick is to tool around with it.  Example...

Old people and, for lack of a better term, "pimps" usually drive their cars in such a fashion that you cannot see them, at least sterotypically. You know, the old lady who can't see over the steering wheel, and the guy who's got the seat so far reclined he may as well be laying down?  I' duse that.

Have this car that appears to have no driver pull up, and old people get out.  If you wanna be really ridiculous they could be wearing hip-hop clothes.  It just depends on what you're in the mood to write, how goofy you're feeling.

I'd be glad to help with your short, and I'll only ask that you see one of my scripts into the "RECOMMEND" pile.  

Quoted from Shelton Definitely. I'd be glad to help with your short, and I'll only ask that you see one of my scripts into the "RECOMMEND" pile.

If you give me permission to show them one of your scripts I would be sooooooo willing to do that, I told them about this site and they said it was cool as long as the script wasn't optioned.  There are a few scripts here that I want to show them, but first I wanna get the writers permision.(so far all I read is crap, 3 from the US, 1 from canada which was mostly french , but ya, let me know which one you like the most  thanks again.

Comedy is about timing. You can write a funny line for a character but if the set up ain't right it won't read funny. It has to read funny otherwise ot won't be funny in a possible movie if it's made.

You can start with a premise for a story you would like to tell and establish funny situations with characters who have funny lines but you can also add stuff wich you can draw from your experience too..

The world is your oyster..

Haha, whatever you do, don't come to me for comedy. According to my Scary Movie 5 script, I completely butchered the genre...

Sean

It is all about dick and fart jokes my friend. I'm a hard person to make laugh so when I watch the pg sitcoms shoved down our throats every week I feel like I've been slapped and someone said, "You don't deserve real comedy"

I watch a lot of comedy, well stand up but when translated into another medium you get something that is funny.

Most shows use a comedian and have moments where you laugh but for the most part, it's a drama... Friends was a drama with a tiny bit of comedy in my opinion which isn't bad but don't call yourself a sitcom when you can't even make me laugh.

Like Mike, I just write what I think is funny and I really do not care what people think about it. I care about what they think regarding the story but if the comedy doesn't work oh well.

Write something about a really dumb situation, In Don We Trust my contribution to the SS Script thing had some scenes that may or may not be funny but when I wrote it, I thought they were funny. If it worked great, if not maybe next time.

You have to ask yourself if you want to write comedy, if the answer is yes give it a try. I am not funny but I have my moments.

There are two ways to write comedy.

Oh, and what's the other way, Alan?

Before you start writing a comedy script, Jordan, just remember to have the story down.  I've seen too many scripts here where the writer just started writing a slew of jokes without any cohesion.  The story will give you direction and the jokes will pop up from there.

Strong characters are also important...


Phil

Thanks Wes and Phil, your comments are helping me, I wanna try something that I'm not so great at to see if I can make myself a stronger writer.  I think comedy is important even if you're writting a drama or a horror, it doesn't always hurt to have a funny moment or a funny character in it.  thanks again.

You can't write anything without a story but yeah sometimes sitcoms are a series of jokes and no story. That's the problem with mainstream television and film.

We have more time to make something good and I'd like to think a lot of people take that time to make their work better.

Quoted Text Haha, whatever you do, don't come to me for comedy. According to my Scary Movie 5 script, I completely butchered the genre... Sean

If you're not good by yourself work with somebody else, two minds can always find a better solution to a problem. If you think a joke is funny but the other guy doesn't change it until you're both happy with the outcome.

Quoted from The boy who could fly Thanks Wes and Phil, your comments are helping me, I wanna try something that I'm not so great at to see if I can make myself a stronger writer.  I think comedy is important even if you're writting a drama or a horror, it doesn't always hurt to have a funny moment or a funny character in it.  thanks again.

All good comedies have dramatic moments in them and all dramas have comedic moments in them.  Just remember to use these moments sparingly.

Quoted from Old Time Wesley You can't write anything without a story but yeah sometimes sitcoms are a series of jokes and no story. That's the problem with mainstream television and film.

And those shows tend to suck.



Phil

In order to write comedy, you have to decide what type of comedy works best for you.  Intellectual comedy?  Slap stick?  Satire?  Gross-out humor?  The comedies I've posted here are satirical and sarcastic in nature.  It reflects my sense of humor and typical view on life.

You have to decide what kind of humor you want to write and, more importantly, who your audience will be.


Phil

Quoted from Old Time Wesley If you're not good by yourself work with somebody else, two minds can always find a better solution to a problem. If you think a joke is funny but the other guy doesn't change it until you're both happy with the outcome.

Thanks Wes.  I think that's what I'm going to have to do

Quoted from dogglebe You have to decide what kind of humor you want to write and, more importantly, who your audience will be. Phil

Ya I gotta find out what kind I'm best at, probably more of a darker sense of humour, I like black comedies a lot.  thanks again

Quoted from The boy who could fly I like black comedies a lot.

Yeah, Big Momma's House was great!


Ba-dum-dum

LOL

Quoted from dogglebe Oh, and what's the other way, Alan?

Thanks for asking.  The two ways to write comedy are ...

OLD SCHOOL (on paper)

and

NEW SCHOOL (on computer screen)

Good luck!

Hey Jordan,

I'm not sure what kind of comedy you want to write.  Could you give examples of movies that appeal to you.
Comedy is definitely broady and indeed subjective.  Quentin Tarantino said Reservoir Dogs should be in the comedy section.
He thinks Scorcese's Taxi Driver was drop-dead funny.

It might be easier for you to weave comedy into your story, rather than try to write a pure comedy.

I like the funny stories you told; the dog with the maxi pad is really a crackup.
And the old farts with the Eminem blasting out of their jalopy.
Maybe you can create a scene these jokes.

Tarantino took stories he had heard through his travels and put them into his movies.

One of my favorite comedies is Ghost World.
Another funny fish-out-of-water film is The Party with Peter Sellers.
These characters are not trying to be funny, but are comical because they don't quite fit.

Like when Peter Seller is cutting his meat (in the party) at the banquet table and the meat flies into some woman's hair.  Or when the Seller's character is trying to find the toilet (fast) and walks smack into Claudine Longet singing a song for guests.  Not to be rude, the Sellers character stands and listens to the performance while easing his way out of the room.  Sellers did great visual comedy.

Here's a kind of funny story that happened to me in high school way back when flower children walked the earth.  One day my English teacher made us draw straws.  Nobody knew why, we just did as we were told.  So this student named Thomas, who came to class stoned everyday, drew the short straw.  Mrs. Tatttoo (that was really her name) told Thomas he would receive an automatic "F" for the semester.
Courtesy of the lottery.
Thomas was very cool about this outcome.  But Mrs. Tattoo got PO'd because she wanted Thomas to protest (as any normal student would do), so she could make her point.  It turns out that  we were going to read Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery.  Mrs. T was demonstrating the unfairness of getting stoned (with rocks) because one has bad luck in a lottery.
I thought it was funny that Thomas thought the whole idea of failing by lottery was Cool, since he said he fails every class anyway.
He said failing by lottery meant he could tell his parents that it really wasn't his fault.
And the irony of a stoned (on marijuana) guy drawing the short straw, just like the character in Jackson's story, who was stoned to death, was just too much.
Well, it was funny to me.

Maybe you better have Mike help you.

Quoted from Old Time Wesley If you're not good by yourself work with somebody else, two minds can always find a better solution to a problem. If you think a joke is funny but the other guy doesn't change it until you're both happy with the outcome.

I'm going to have to disagree here, Wes.  If two writers disagree on comedies, they'll never get a script written.

Your best bet would be to write the script and then show it to another writer.


Phil

Thanks Abe.  my favorite comedies are probably plains, trains, & automobiles, Kingpin, Bad santa, war of the roses, suicide kings and the ref.  That's kinda broad I guess cause they all be a different type of comedy.  Like I see and hear funny things all the time, but some of what I hear is so foul, but it cracks me up, I just don't know if I would go too far with it, I really never know where the line should be drawn, and a part of me doesn't care, I figure, hell, I jump miles over the line and see where it takes me(even if it's a 1 way ticket to hell).  I probably should experiment a bit and try to find out where I'm strongest.  thanks for the imput.

Quoted from dogglebe I'm going to have to disagree here, Wes.  If two writers disagree on comedies, they'll never get a script written. Your best bet would be to write the script and then show it to another writer. Phil

now I'm confused

Comedy can be universal or specific to a particular culture of language.

A good article can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy

There's a lot of links on this page which discuss various forms of comedy wich maybe of some help..

Kevan

Thanks Kevan

Quoted from Shelton Yeah, Big Momma's House was great! Ba-dum-dum

Sean

Quoted from The boy who could fly now I'm confused

Welcome to Simplyscripts!

Everyone has their own opinion of what's funny.  Unless you team up with someone with the same sense of humor that you have, you'll fight over each and every joke.  The comedies that I wrote hear show my sense of humor.  Not everyone will think what I wrote was funny (though many did).  If I started writing it with someone else, we'd be arguing from page whether or not a joke should be used.


Phil

I like all types of comedy(except for woody allen), so I'm open in almost every way, I'm open to almost anything

Quoted from The boy who could fly I like all types of comedy(except for woody allen), so I'm open in almost every way, I'm open to almost anything

Dude, Woody Allen is so funny. The guy's a genius, he's cool..

I love most of his films the comedies and his serious stuff..

You wanna get into him, the guy can sure write scripts, and he's a good director too.. I haven't seen MATCH POINT but I like a lot of his other stuff. THE JADE SCORPIAN was an excellent take on the Film Noir genre and done really well, and it as real funny too..

My favorite has got to be THE FRONT though directed by Martin Ritt previously blacklisted and this is what the movie is all about, it's funny and sad both at the same time.. Wicked stuff!!!!

Kev

I've tried watching woody allen and i cant stand him.  watching someone whine for 2 hrs doesn't do it for me, I dont know what it is about him that i hate, maybe that he married his daughter, that's kinda creepy(must be mormon), but to me his movies suck, I just think its personal taste, I wish I could like his stuff cause everyone else tells me he's the greatest, but not 4 me.