Strange Comedy

I've been giving a lot of thought to comedy and writing comedy. I've been watching comedians and reading lots of comedy lately. I'm trying to figure out what makes things funny to me. It seems like there is a huge divide in comedy. Two distinct types.

There's physical comedy. Comedy based on prat falls and silliness. It's Abbott & Costello, Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis and everything that Adam Sandler has ever done. That comedy based on silliness, bodily fluids and physical gags. All the movies made by National Lampoon and most of the jokes told by the Blue Collar Comedy guys. The books that present an endearing character who is beset by her own inabilities, or surrounded by craziness. Janet Evanovich's whole number series based on the exploits of Stephanie Plum falls into this category. Most of MaryJanice Davidson's vampire and werewolf books are comedic and depend on these types of gags.

Maria Bamford is on the Stand Up Comedy Jam and she has the weirdest act I've ever seen. She just does a rambling, stream of consciousness monologue that borders on mental illness. I laughed and laughed. My husband sat beside me, unlaughing, and kept asking me to explain the jokes. He didn't get it.

Then there's the very cerebral comedy based on culture, current events and politics. The Dennis Miller rants, Lewis Black diatribes and everything that Jon Stewart does on The Daily Show. When a comedian depends on pointing out the silliness in world events, or actual political scandals, then 'the thinking man' can appreciate the absurd in life and laugh. This translates into more stand up than written books. Thoughtful comedy acts as a 'straight man' to life's crazy events. George Burns never told a joke until his wife Gracie died. He was the straight man. In order for some comedy to work, it requires the foil of normality.

So now, I'm back to looking at the books written to be comedic. You have to have endearing characters, a reasonable plot, and wackiness. I'm trying to dissect how to make something funny and I found a great article by a writer. She recommends a set-up, the 'one, two punch' but instead of delivering that which you've been led to expect by the set-up, you throw in something unexpected. I'm wondering if the pattern of delivery actually makes something more funny?

I'm also worried that what I find humor in will leave a wide portion of the audience out in the cold. I'm imagining a reader like my husband just looking blankly at the page. It's a lot easier to think about comedy than to write it. So, characterization, timing and delivery. And quirkiness. It's a lot to integrate into a story. I'd better get back to work.

--Sandee Wagner