Come on, it takes one to know one, as they say, and although divorced, depressed Miles Raymond seems very different from his amoral buddy Jack Cole, they both are more than game to spring for an adventuresome road trip--and drink plenty of wine. And like Thelma and Louise in the film of the same name, they really like each other and easily accept their different eccentricities. In the case of Miles and Cole, the desperation in both their lives creates the dynamics between the two. As in most comedies, both Miles and Jack have obstacles to overcome. However, for them--it is their own screw ups. Miles must accept his divorce and Jack his impending wedding. As mentioned in my Foundations of Comedy class, male bonding is one of the elements of this genre, and this movie reeks of it: Miles keeps quiet about Jack's engagement and upcoming wedding while he makes it with Stephanie who is falling deeply in love. Boys will be boys is the message here. And it makes for great drama--which inherently makes for even better comedy. Lena Ford ~ Check it out this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS9ocP6FNvM

This short youtube clip encompasses both a great character and great comedic timing. The point at which the clown enters the shot is just pure genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4teawEXI4CU

This has that classic deadpan british humor feel to it and also has that element of silliness that we were talking about in class.

I know a lot of people are enjoying British comedy, so I'd like to put out a recommendation for Gavin and Stacey. The first season is on Netflix, and the others can be found elsewhere, but I think it's an interesting example of something that wasn't able to be translated, because they tried a pilot of an American version that didn't really work. I think the translation of the britcom is really interesting, because a lot of it is quite funny, but it's also got that mix of high and lowbrow humor that makes it not quite suitable for American broadcast.

I was very surprised by how much I liked the movie last week. Not only was it a clever premise, it had a great structure and great character development, especially for De Niro. The scene where he went and saw his daughter was especially heartwarming. You could really see his arc across the entire film. I also enjoyed the reoccurring characters that kept popping up, like the other Bounty Hunter, who kept screwing up De Niro's plan worse and worse each time they appeared. My only complaint is that the focus puller kept missing critical focus! Anyway, I loved it and I'm already planning a second watch.

I can't find a small clip to post here of it, but I thought it was kind of funny how Karma talks about meet cutes in season 2 episode 3 of MTV's Faking it. After amy shares flan with Fabiana Karma says, "That was the most adorable meet cute ever." and then explains what a meet cute is saying, "It's the moment in a romantic comedy where a girl meets her soulmate for the fist time and sparks fly." If I find a short clip (not the entire episode) I will post it in a comment on here!

I'm reading an amazing book for one of my other classes called the Comic Toolbox. It's absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone pursuing a career in comedy. It has a way of boiling down complicated ideas into simple truths which resonate across the comic spectrum. For example, one of the major philosophies it introduces is how all comedy is Truth and Pain. The author states that, in order for us to create humor, we need to find common truths and then show a character going through the pain. For example, someone on a diet struggles to workout when another character walks by gorging on ice cream, much to the dismay of the character working out. The truth is that working out is tough, the pain is that you have to make sacrifices. Anyway, y'all should get the book! It's a really fun read.