tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047429527902019331.post3168192966568356909..comments2023-09-20T00:49:28.726-07:00Comments on Misfortune Cookie Blog: The One Flaw of Woody Allen MoviesJuliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13487413374850257707noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047429527902019331.post-31647122054993987172007-06-02T19:08:00.000-07:002007-06-02T19:08:00.000-07:00I'm sticking to my guns here, because I believe Wo...I'm sticking to my guns here, because I believe Woody Allen movies are different than the other examples you listed. On Seinfeld, for example, the character's dialogue is funny, sure, but it always relates to the matter at hand, usually urgent. Plus, on sitcoms, most, if not all of the characters are funny and have funny dialogue, so they're not gonna react to each other that way. But in Woody Allen movies, he's the only one with the one-liners, and they're usually irrelevant. I'm not saying that the other characters should belly laugh at him the way the audience might, but some well-placed "Oh, (Woody's character's name)!" could work wonders.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13487413374850257707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047429527902019331.post-77490947177278944062007-06-02T15:58:00.000-07:002007-06-02T15:58:00.000-07:00It doesn't work from an entertainment perspective....It doesn't work from an entertainment perspective. First, the more slyly-tucked-away the one-liner, the funnier it plays (especially on repeat viewings), and second, having your characters laugh at your jokes only gets read by the audience as self-congratulatory. It also messes with the flow of the narrative and (more especially and pressingly) the back-and-forth of the dialogue. Characters really will almost always only laugh in order to ridicule another character.<BR/><BR/>And this is true of just about every comedy movie ever...nobody onscreen laughs beyond a slight chuckle (or unless the scene begins with a character sharing a funny anecdote that has everyone else laughing already) when something funny happens or is said.<BR/><BR/>See also...Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development (actually most modern sitcoms), 40-Year-Old Virgin, any Kevin Smith movie, etc. etc.Scott Nyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14724578529259302208noreply@blogger.com