When Did Comedies Become So... Mean?

After I saw Step Brothers, there was one thing that was really bothering me. I didn't like the film at all, but I didn't really understand why. For some reason it did not have the type of humor that the two Adam McKay films had. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby were both very enjoyable and very, very funny.

Then, after some serious thought, I finally understood what I didn't like about his newest film.

It was just too mean.

Since when are comedies so mean? Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are just so mean to each other, and everyone around them. It makes them characters no one can identify with, or even want to identify with. While Ron Burgandy and Ricky Bobby are not the most relatable characters, at least they are likable, and you may want to relate to them. But in Step Brothers, they're just so damn mean it's hard to care about them, or the movie in general.

What happened to comedies like Mel Brooks used to make? Those were silly, slapstick fun. They weren't mean. Even Knocked Up and Superbad, while very crude, had characters you could still fall in love with, and root for. This wasn't the case in Step Brothers. What's worse, The Foot Fist Way, and Jody Hill's new film, Observe & Report seem to have the same problem. Though I was once a die-hard fan of Rogen's I can tell you I won't be going to see Observe & Report. It just looks too mean.

And even worse still, it seems like America wants these movies to be mean. It seems to a be an advertising point. For example, take a look at the DVD box for the upcoming release of Sex Drive.


Why is it being advertised like this? If you recall, I raved about this film. The reason I loved it so much was because it found that heart, the element that seems to be ever so elusive in these mean comedies today. Sex Drive is not the 'crudest, rudest' thing around, so why advertise it like that?


Because that's what people want.

And in the words of Seth Rogen in Knocked Up, it makes me sad all day.

Upcoming Film: Observe and Report

Maybe you saw 'The Foot Fist Way' - maybe you didn't. You probably didn't. Regardless, the writer and director of the film that made Danny Mcbride a household name is at it again. This movie is called 'Observe and Report' and its pretty much about an ass of a Mall Cop (Seth Rogen) and the girl he falls for (Anna Faris), all the while protecting his mall from a flasher.

The trailer is damn crude, and Rogen's character looks damn unlikeable. In fact, I personally think the whole movie looks unlikeable. Jody Hill (The Director) seems to have a way of writing nasty leading roles, that literally nobody can feel for or identify with.

Really, I'm not expecting a classic.

Here's the green-band trailer. (That means its safe for you to watch in class or in your cubicle).

Now on DVD: The Foot Fist Way

Okay, that title was a lie. Kind of. The Foot Fist Way is not available on DVD until tomorrow. But it is on Itunes movie store now.... so maybe you should check it out.

Now I'll tell you what 'The Foot Fist Way' is. (Spoilers May Occur - Not Major Ones Though)

'Foot Fist' is the delightfully indy tale of a guy named Fred 'King of the Demo' Simmons (Danny McBride - Pineapple Express/ Tropic Thunder). Fred runs a Tae Kwon Do school, where he spends 60% of his life teaching children the fighting art of Tae Kwon Do. He's cocky, but sure of himself, and when it comes down to it, the school is just like any other Tae Kwon Do school that you may or may not have attended. On the weekends they set up a tent in a parking lot and Fred demonstrates Tae Kwon Do to potential new classmates (Hence: King of the Demo), and during the weekdays, they practice Tae Kwon Do in the classroom. The class is full of a whole assortment of characters. Usually Fred wanders away from class to attend to his own business and leaves one of the younger students, Julio (Spencer Moreno), in charge.

At home, Fred has his problems too. His wife Suzie (Mary Jane Bostic) is cheating on him, and he wants to figure out how to get his Tae Kwon Do hero Chuck 'The Truck' Wallace (Ben Best) to come to his class for the final testing. Naturally, this is a lot more action than Fred is used to handling, and soon he has to figure out how to be 'the bigger man' and handle it all to prove he really is 'King of the Demo'.

After Pineapple Express came out this summer many people sad 'Where did Danny McBride come from, and how did he land a role like this?" Well the answer is simply 'The Foot Fist Way". McBride's character of Fred is never really like-able, but you can't hate him either, just because he is so innocent. With most likely 90% improvised dialogue, McBride does well with making the viewer laugh with almost all of his lines. Chuck 'The Truck' is played by Ben Best almost as if Chuck Norris, and Willie Nelson were fused together into an epic Tae Kwon Do master. He's kind of a jerk and Chuck 'The Truck' is in no way a hero, at least in the way that Fred looks up to him. Jody Hill has a fun, but small role as well as Mike McAlister, a Tae Kwon Do maven, who is pretty quiet, but dresses pretty much like Draco Malfoy, from the Harry Potter franchise.

Also, watching Fred sign up students is a pretty good laugh as well, because Fred is so cocky that he does not seem to care if students join his school or not. Jonathan Ewart has a quick but funny spot as a guy who just wants to take Tae Kwon Do, but is literally berated out of the office by Fred. Collette Wolfe (Semi Pro) is a girl who does join the class, much to her disappointment when Fred falls in love with her and talks as if she is the one having relationship problems with him, instead of the other way around.

Written by Ben Best, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride, and shot in 2005 (Directed by Jody Hill) on a $70,000 budget, this is the true epitome of an indy comedy. A totally independent film, not like the kind of 'indy movie' you see today that were backed by big studios from day one. After premiering at the LA Film Festival in 2006, it was picked up by the Sundance Film Festival and subsequently picked up by Will Ferrell and Adam Mckay... who loved the movie and wanted to to gain cult status, but it seems they did not promote their new baby as much as they should have.

I don't know what the behind the scenes are, but I hear there may be an alternate ending, and probably interviews with the cast and a line-o-rama or something like that.

Pick up your copy of THE FOOT FIST WAY tomorrow!


Here's a trailer. It's pretty NSFW (Not Safe For Work - Language wise) so if you are in an office, standing next to grumpy elderly people, or substitute teaching at a nursery school - you may wish to turn your sound down a bit.