Black to the future
We all guiltily laugh at the sick joke our friend tells us even though we are truly appalled by the seriousness of the subject matter.
| 14 Aug 2006
Did you hear the joke about the group of idealistic friends who invite right wing guests to dinner in order to murder them because of their political beliefs? Ok, on paper it doesn't seem so funny but this scenario from 'The Last Supper' is a perfect example of black comedy; a subgenre of comedy and satire where events that are normally treated seriously such as death, illness and mass-murder are treated as being humorous.
This brings us to 'The Big White', released on DVD this month. Evoking memories of 'Fargo', 'The Big White' is unfortunately Fargolite. There's a lot to enjoy in the film, Robin Williams is in 'dark' territory again whilst Holly Hunter is excellent if underused as his wife. The story follows a classic black comedy framework; Barnell (Williams) tries to cash in a life policy on his long lost brother only to be told he can't claim the money as no body has been found. Stumbling upon a body hidden by two goons, Barnell steals it in an effort to get the money. The real comedy comes from Blake Nelson as Goon no.1 as he and his partner in crime kidnap Hunter in an effort to blackmail Barnell. What starts as a promising premise ends up as a wasted opportunity as an excellent cast are left with very little material to work with.
As mentioned earlier one of the common themes of black comedy is murder, a scenario examined in the aforementioned 'Last Supper' starring Cameron Diaz. The movie is a savage satire about intolerance. Five liberal Iowa graduate students share a house, eat communal meals and are very left wing. One night a stranger gives a lift to one of the friends and is subsequently invited to dine with them. Unfortunately, he's a racist ex-Desert Storm Vet who takes offence at one student's mocking of the war. After a brief scuffle, Paxton's Truck driver is killed. They bury him in the garden and an idea is born: what if you could kill Hitler before any war - think of all the lives you would save? By the end, the liberal heroes are completely carried away, and arguing about whether they've killed and buried 10 or 11 right-wingers.
Another example is 'Fargo' itself, directed by The Coen Brothers. Without spoiling it for anyone unfamiliar with the plot, a car salesman played by William H Macey needs money for a business deal; desperately he hires a couple of losers to kidnap his wife in order to extort money from his very rich Father in Law. Of course all does not to plan. 'Fargo' is based on a true story which adds to its credentials as a black comedy - all the ingredients are there, the film opens as a normal, serious drama then revels in darkness and death. From these examples it's easy to pick out the common themes: money to get the protagonist out of a hole, the crime itself, usually performed ineptly, and the resulting decline into murder and madness.
Another Coen Bothers black comedy, 'Barton Fink' gets its laughs from the dark side. This time the comedy comes from one man's ineptitude in scriptwriting for Hollywood. Fink is a left wing New York playwright who writes one proletarian play in the 1930s and is summoned to Hollywood, where the smarmy head of Capital Pictures gives him a sackful of money to write a wrestling picture. Barton then descends into madness as he tries to justify lowering his artistic ideals. He writes in a small room in a hotel with one other guest, played by John Goodman, who at first seems ordinary, but is later revealed to be the devil incarnate, as the movie becomes an apocalyptic vision of blood, flames and ruin. The appeal of black comedy is easy to see: we all guiltily laugh at the sick joke our friend tells us even though we are truly appalled by the seriousness of the subject matter.
It is that human ability to find humour in the darkest of places that allows these films to be so successful? Perhaps they reveal and provide an outlet for our own hidden desires; who hasn't wanted to feed their boss through a wood chipper? All these films are great examples of the genre but also check out 'Heathers', 'Grosse Point Blank' and 'A Simple Plan' if you want to while away the hours laughing whilst looking over your shoulder to check nobody's watching you.
This brings us to 'The Big White', released on DVD this month. Evoking memories of 'Fargo', 'The Big White' is unfortunately Fargolite. There's a lot to enjoy in the film, Robin Williams is in 'dark' territory again whilst Holly Hunter is excellent if underused as his wife. The story follows a classic black comedy framework; Barnell (Williams) tries to cash in a life policy on his long lost brother only to be told he can't claim the money as no body has been found. Stumbling upon a body hidden by two goons, Barnell steals it in an effort to get the money. The real comedy comes from Blake Nelson as Goon no.1 as he and his partner in crime kidnap Hunter in an effort to blackmail Barnell. What starts as a promising premise ends up as a wasted opportunity as an excellent cast are left with very little material to work with.
As mentioned earlier one of the common themes of black comedy is murder, a scenario examined in the aforementioned 'Last Supper' starring Cameron Diaz. The movie is a savage satire about intolerance. Five liberal Iowa graduate students share a house, eat communal meals and are very left wing. One night a stranger gives a lift to one of the friends and is subsequently invited to dine with them. Unfortunately, he's a racist ex-Desert Storm Vet who takes offence at one student's mocking of the war. After a brief scuffle, Paxton's Truck driver is killed. They bury him in the garden and an idea is born: what if you could kill Hitler before any war - think of all the lives you would save? By the end, the liberal heroes are completely carried away, and arguing about whether they've killed and buried 10 or 11 right-wingers.
Another example is 'Fargo' itself, directed by The Coen Brothers. Without spoiling it for anyone unfamiliar with the plot, a car salesman played by William H Macey needs money for a business deal; desperately he hires a couple of losers to kidnap his wife in order to extort money from his very rich Father in Law. Of course all does not to plan. 'Fargo' is based on a true story which adds to its credentials as a black comedy - all the ingredients are there, the film opens as a normal, serious drama then revels in darkness and death. From these examples it's easy to pick out the common themes: money to get the protagonist out of a hole, the crime itself, usually performed ineptly, and the resulting decline into murder and madness.
Another Coen Bothers black comedy, 'Barton Fink' gets its laughs from the dark side. This time the comedy comes from one man's ineptitude in scriptwriting for Hollywood. Fink is a left wing New York playwright who writes one proletarian play in the 1930s and is summoned to Hollywood, where the smarmy head of Capital Pictures gives him a sackful of money to write a wrestling picture. Barton then descends into madness as he tries to justify lowering his artistic ideals. He writes in a small room in a hotel with one other guest, played by John Goodman, who at first seems ordinary, but is later revealed to be the devil incarnate, as the movie becomes an apocalyptic vision of blood, flames and ruin. The appeal of black comedy is easy to see: we all guiltily laugh at the sick joke our friend tells us even though we are truly appalled by the seriousness of the subject matter.
It is that human ability to find humour in the darkest of places that allows these films to be so successful? Perhaps they reveal and provide an outlet for our own hidden desires; who hasn't wanted to feed their boss through a wood chipper? All these films are great examples of the genre but also check out 'Heathers', 'Grosse Point Blank' and 'A Simple Plan' if you want to while away the hours laughing whilst looking over your shoulder to check nobody's watching you.
The Big White' is released on August 7.