The English Teacher Goes to the Movies Part 6: Screwball Comedies
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Our maverick English Teacher and movie buff looks at the screwball comedy. In its classic form, this type of comedy ( it's not actually a genre, any more than film noir is a genre) combines farce, slapstick, romantic comedy, comedy of manners, parody, and satire into a heady mix of outlandish situations, oddball characters, and complete irreverence toward traditional values. As a film form, it started in the late 20s just as sound was coming in, and reached its zenith during the 30s and early 40s. Created by people like Howard Hawks, Leo McCarey, Ernst Lubitsch, and Preston Sturges, to name but a few, it has also inspired more recent filmmakers, most notably the Coen Brothers. Here are 51 films-45 from the classic period, and 6 more recent examples.
avg. score: 14 of 51 (28%)
required scores: 1, 3, 8, 14, 27
