TODAY'S NUGGET: Duck Soup (1933) - The Importance of Laughs in Parody (Inventiveness)

[Quick Summary: When inept Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is appointed dictator of Freedonia, he faces two enemy spies from Sylvania (Chicolini and Pinky).]

I love, love, love Airplane and Naked Gun, but could never figure out why that writing doesn't come naturally to me. 

Seasoned comedy writer Ken Levine explains that these are parodies/spoofs (vs. what he writers, which is more character based comedy):

Here are the pros and cons of parody/spoofs:

Pros: You can draw laughs from anywhere, any style.  Puns, wordplay, physical comedy, shock humor, absurdity — anything is fair game.  All the things you normally pitch in a room and wish you could do you CAN do.   And parodies give you a target right from the get-go. 

Cons: You’re only as good as your last laugh.  Stories are hard to construct because they mean nothing — just a coat rack to hang jokes.  So there’s no emotional investment.  The only thing keeping the souffle from collapsing is laughs.  So they better be damn good and lots and lots of them.

So what brings on the laughs? Inventiveness is definitely one key.

In this scene* from the Marx Brothers' famous Duck Soup:
- There is no real story.  It's just laughs.
- Note how inventive this reversal is: Chicolini and Pinky want to get inside the house --> both DO get inside the house --> then both end up outside.

In a longer shot, Chicolini pulls away and presses the buzzer on the door.

We now see a hedge in the foreground; Chicolini and Pinky hide behind it as the butler comes out of the front door and looks from side to side. Pinky dives for the front door, followed by Chicolini, goes in and slams the door in Chicolini's face while the butler looks behind the hedge. Chicolini hides behind the hedge again as the butler goes back to the door, finds it shut and goes off to the left.

Cut to show Chicolini as he goes up to the door, rings the bell and hides behind the hedge again. Pinky comes out and looks over the hedge, whistling. Chicolini dives for the door behind him and slams the door in his face. Pinky presses the bell and hides.

We see Pinky hiding behind the hedge as Chicolini comes out again and looks over it. The butler reappears in the background, goes in and shuts the door in the faces of Pinky and Chicolini.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  I glad that I finally realize that I'm not just the joke-joke-joke kind of writer that parodies require to keep from collapsing.

Duck Soup (1933)
by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby

*There is no official script available.  This one that was publish is likely the best approximation, and was cobbled together from dialogue continuity pages and shot-by-shot viewings of the film.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Monkey Business (1931) - The Rule of Three: In Word Play & to Show "I Like You"

[Quick Summary: On a transatlantic voyage, the Marx Brothers annoy everyone.]

As you may know, the Marx brothers films are light on plot, but heavy on fun.  

They understood what works in comedy, particularly the comedy rule of three, i.e., setup, setup, payoff.  I've begun to think of it as a rhythm thing.

This script* demonstrates the rule in a variety of ways:

a) In word play, which requires a knowledge of English:

CHICO: I was gonin' ta bring my grandfather, but there was no room for his beard.
GROUCHO waving his toothbrush: Why don't you send for the swine adn let his beard come later?
CHICO: I sent for his beard.
GROUCHO: You did?
CHICO: Yeah, it's coming by hairmail.

b) In action to show "I like you," where language isn't as important.

On the promenade deck, Zeppo skids past and through a doorway with Gibson in hot pursuit. He reappears through another glass door and crouches down, hiding from Gibson, as a girl - Mary - walks through. Zeppo springs up and strolls along beside her, taking her by the arm. Camera tracks ahead of them.

ZEPPO expansively: You know, there's some might pretty country round here. I've...

MARY: I beg your pardon?

She disengages herself and walks on. Zeppo strides ahead of her whistling. He drops his handkerchief, picks it up, and steps up to Mary again.

ZEPPO: Pardon me, is this yours?

MARY: Why no.

She walks on. Zeppo hesitates, then tries again.

ZEPPO: Are you sure?

MARY sweetly: I'm positive. 

A smile comes over her face as she walks on. She drops her own handkerchief and waits. Then as Zeppo hurries up again she picks it up and holds it out to him.

MARY: Is this yours?

ZEPPO pocketing the handkerchief. Yes, it is.

He takes her by the arms and they stroll on. 

ZEPPO: Well, as I was saying, there's some mighty beautiful country round here.

MARY enthusiastically: The trees are lovely.

ZEPPO: Oh, you bet they are. I love 'em.

They go off in the foreground.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Think in threes.  Also, I noticed that the economy of the dialogue and comedy is amazingly compact.

Monkey Business (1931)
by S.J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone

*There is no official script available.  This one that was publish is likely the best approximation, and was cobbled together from dialogue continuity pages and shot-by-shot viewings of the film.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Unfulfilled Love as a Strong Theme

[Quick Summary: When college friends Vicky and Cristina spend two months in Barcelona, each falls in love with the same artist, whose volatile ex-wife returns.]

I was surprised that the theme was so strong in this Woody Allen script.

It made more sense when I considered that:
a) The theme is unfulfilled love, and
b) Every character WANTS the same thing (variations of longing for love), but NEEDS something else. *

One of the script's strength is how strong that WANT is, yet it remains unfulfilled.

For example, in the scene below:
- Vicky had a fiancee, and was unprepared for her connection with artist Juan. 
- They had a one night stand.  He moved on easier than she did.
- On a whim, Vicky's fiancee suggested getting married in Barcelona. 
- Vicky and Ben are in Spanish classes together.
- I thought this was a poignant conflict for Vicky who has attracted two guys, yet still feels unfulfilled because of a third guy.

INT. FRUIT STORE - CONTINUOUS

Ben reaches toward Vicky and clasps her hand.

NARRATOR (V.O.): ...he couldn't resist taking her hand.

VICKY: Uh...uh, no.

Vicky pulls her hand away from Ben.

VICKY (cont'd): Don't. I....

BEN: No?

VICKY: Ehhh, no. Yyyy-you-you-you do know...that I'm, I'm recently married.

BEN: Yeah, I...I guess I was under the impression that...maybe you jumped into it too quick, maybe you regret it...?

VICKY: Regret? Have, have I implied that?

BEN: Unless I read into it.

VICKY: No, I...I shouldn't tell you this. I, I, uh...you know what? I was always someone who thought I knew exactly what I wanted.

BEN: But you didn't.

Vicky shakes her head nervously.

VICKY: Well, no, I, I, I met somebody else and, uh...I'm not gonna get into that story.

BEN: So, this guy you met?

VICKY: The guy is, is living with my best friend. (sighs) You know? (chuckling) What am I talking about? When I...when I hear myself, it's just, it's just crazy. I just married the guy I wanted.

BEN: Did you?

VICKY: I thought so.

BEN: So? What happened?

Vicky shakes her head.

VICKY: One goddamned weekend in Oviedo.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked that each character wanted love, but a slightly different variation, which kept it interesting.

I also appreciate how Allen writes dialogue that stumbles around a bit, like people thinking aloud.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
by Woody Allen

*As a side note, I found that the comedy comes from characters choosing the wrong person to fulfill that want.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Brazil (1985) - When You Need Funny, Imaginative, Inventive Inspiration

[Quick Summary:  Sam, a lowly employee, disrupts the intrusive, bureaucratic Ministry of Information Retrieval, as he pursues a woman he had dreams of.]

Sometimes you just need examples of how far you could push being funny, imaginative, inventive.

If so, read this script. Here are three (I underlined my favorite parts):

FUNNY: 

CUT to group of tables with diners. At one of them sits a wealthy-looking OLDER WOMAN with a rather plain-looking DAUGHTER in her 20s. The OLDER WOMAN is easily distinguished from the other clientele by a large bandage that covers a goodish part of her head. The two of them (the MOTHER and DAUGHTER, not the MOTHER and bandage) are perusing the menus.

IMAGINATIVE:

Before he can really take in where he is the phone rings. He staggers over to it.

SAM: Hello...hello...

PHONE VOICE: Hello. Mr. Lowry?

SAM: Who's that? 

A sound at the kitchen door turns SAM'S head - and ours - just in time to half see a quick blurred movement, but then a rap voice in his ear-piece brings his head back.

PHONE VOICE: Put the phone down and your hands up.

SAM (into the phone): What? Who is this?

SAM realizes that the voice is also in the room behind him. He turns round and sees TUTTLE. TUTTLE is middle-aged, a short tough figure dressed in dark clothes suggesting a cross between a cat burglar and  a night-raid commando. In one hand he holds a gun pointed at SAM. The other hand is holding a telephone receiver which TUTTLE is in the act of placing in the large capacious bag at his feet. SAM puts down his phone, and his hands up.

INVENTIVE: 

From SAM'S POV, a piece of broken mirror lying on the floor reflects the hole in the ceiling...with JILL's head and shoulders framed in the hole. The moment is unreal for SAM in his dazed condition. The vision seems unreal too. JILL is staring at SAM out of the piece of mirror and she's very much the GIRL from his dream now.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Despite the heaviness of topic (bureaucracy), it was easy to follow because of 1) the simple thorough line (guy pursuing girl); 2) humor.

Brazil (1985)(1983 draft)
by Terry Gilliam

2022 OSCARS: The Power of the Dog (2021) - Ratchet Up Tension to Create a Crucible; Alcohol Used as a Release Valve

[Quick Summary: Brothers Phil and George peaceably run a Montana cattle ranch, until George marries widow Rose, who has an adult son Peter.]

I'm quite impressed at how the writer created a gradual crucible for the Rose character (whom I believe is not as fleshed out in the novel). 

In fact, it was so effective that I was terribly relieved when Rose drank to escape.  I couldn't take much more of Phil either.

The crucible really worked because there was a constant ratcheting up of tension:

- LEVEL 1: Rose marries wealthy George, who lives in a 16 bedroom house with brother Phil.  Phil actively hates Rose. She secretly drinks to deal...and Phil knows her secret.

- LEVEL 2: Phil decides to mentor her son Peter, in order to spite her.

- LEVEL 3: Cruel Phil baits Rose when she's near the toppling point (see below)

INT. BURBANK RANCH HOUSE/STAIRS/PHIL'S BEDROOM - DAY

Phil finishes climbing the stairs carrying a newly found fossil. In his bedroom he places the fossil inside his display case. Sharp eared Phil hears the drop of the bottle and opens his dormer window peering below. He sees Rose stretched out beside the pit now using a stick to roll a bottle of Whisky toward her, a good inch of the golden liquid at the bottom. As she reaches down to grasp it's neck Phil whistles a short phrase from Rose's Strauss Waltz. Rose pauses and Phil stops whistling. She pulls the Whisky bottle out of the pit and the whistling starts again, Phil above her watches amused. Rose looks all about including back up at the house. She doesn't know if the whistling is real or if she's imagining it. She steps back against the shadows of the wall and swigs the dregs of the bottle.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I'm rarely this moved emotionally to feel such helplessness. I totally understood how alcohol could be justified as a release valve.

The Power of the Dog (2021)
by Jane Campion
Based on The Power of the Dog, by Thomas Savage

2022 OSCARS: The Lost Daughter (2021) - Voice; When the Environment Expresses a Character's Internal World

[Quick Summary: Leda (40), an Italian literature professor, vacations by the sea alone, and encounters a young mother whose life mirrors her own past.]

This script really impressed me because the writer's voice is very confident:

1) ECONOMY OF WRITING. The script includes just enough information (not too much or too little) to understand the character and his/her motives.

ex. Early in the script, Leda willingly moves her lounge chair and books because a cute guy offers to get her out of the sun. 

Later, she refuses to move her things when a family asks her to switch seats. In other words, she can be accommodating, but only when she wants to.

2) UNDERSTANDS CINEMATIC LANGUAGE. The writer really understands how an image can convey more than dialogue, and knows how to use it.

In the scene below:
- Leda has just arrived at the seaside and is shown to her room.
- Notice how the writer used the environment (beam of light, darkness, pillows).  One could say it's just laying out the facts.  However, visually/cinematically, it could be also foreshadowing things about Leda internal world.

INT. SEASIDE APARTMENT, BEDROOM - NIGHT

Leda turns off the AC, pushes back the curtains and opens the window. She takes a breath of fresh sea air.

She turns off the lights and lays on the bed in her clothes.

THE BEAM OF THE LIGHTHOUSE EXPLODES OUT OF THE DARKNESS. Filling the room with light.

INT. SEASIDE APARTMENT, BEDROOM - MORNING

Leda wakes slowly. She has covered her head with two pillows to avoid the beam from the lighthouse.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: In the scene above, Leda takes a fresh breath in --> then a beam of light crosses the screen. It's a metaphor: new air in --> the truth comes out.

That's confidence in one's visuals and that the audience will get it.

The Lost Daughter (2021)
by Maggie Gyllenhaal
Based on The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante

2022 OSCARS: Dune (2021) - Making the Unfamiliar Familiar in Sci-Fi (Clarity)

[Quick Summary: At the behest of the Emperor, Paul's family moves to the planet Arrakis and is attacked, in a great political and financial conspiracy.]  

I am impressed by this excellent adaptation of an enormous book (576 pgs.) It felt accessible to me, who knew nothing, yet it had enough for rabid fans.  

I noticed that CLARITY did two things:
- Helped increase pacing.
- Made the unfamiliar familiar, ex. simplifying complicated characters or back-stabbing politics to understandable concepts (mother-son, enemy-ally, etc.)

In the scene below:
- Jessica, Paul's mother, has left him (16) in the library with her old teacher, Rev. Mother Mohiam.
- Jessica hasn't told Paul everything about her side of the family nor about this test.
- Rev. Mother orders Paul to put his hand in a special box.
- Though the details may be sci-fi and unfamiliar, this situation is very familiar (student taking test w/ teacher; worried parent in the next room).
- Also, notice that the rawness of tone and tension makes it read faster.

IN THE LIBRARY

Paul stares at the Reverend Mother apprehensively. And suddenly he feels it: a tingling sensation in his fingers that makes his breath catch. He hisses in pain.

PAUL: Why are you doing this?

REV. MOTHER MOHIAM: An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off its own leg to escape. What will you do?

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Jessica's voice shakes as she whispers the Litany.

JESSICA: I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

IN THE LIBRARY

Sweat beads on Paul's forehead as the pain grows into agony. He moans through clenched teeth. His left hand balled into a white knuckled fist, his arm trembling. Pain!

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Jessica closes her eyes.

JESSICA (CONT'D): And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

IN THE LIBRARY

Paul trembles. The gom jabbar glints against his neck. The Reverend Mother's eyes burn into him. He is panting.

INSERT: Paul's hand inside the box. Like a hand in a bonfire. The skin blackening. Splitting.

Paul CRIES OUT involuntarily. The Reverend Mother hisses:

REV. MOTHER MOHIAM: Silence!

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Jessica's voice rises --

JESSICA: Where the fear has gone there will be nothing!

IN THE LIBRARY

Paul shudders in excruciating pain. Locking eyes with the old Reverend Mother. At the very edge of his endurance.

INSERT: Paul's hand. Crisp flesh falling from charred bones.

Paul shuts his eyes. His mouth opens in a silent scream.

REV. MOTHER MOHIAM Enough!

The pain cuts off at once. Paul's eyes snap open with a gasp.

OUTSIDE THE DOOR

Jessica opens her eyes.

JESSICA: Only I will remain.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was surprised how fast I read this and how engaged I stayed, even though I didn't totally get all the sci-fi stuff.

Dune (2021) (6/19/20 final draft w/revisions)
by Jon Spaights and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
Based on the novel 'Dune' by Frank Herbert

2022 OSCARS: CODA (2021) - Creating Four Different Character Arcs But One Central Theme

[Quick Summary: Ruby (18) is torn between staying home to help her deaf family, and dreams of a college singing scholarship.]

FOUR THOUGHTS:

1) This script is FUN to read (and the fastest of the 4 Oscars scripts thus far).

2) It's a true ENSEMBLE piece, and all four main characters change and arc.

3) Though all their arcs are different, they all have the SAME THEME (not being seen for who they are).  It keeps the stories unified and easier to follow.

I really like how the writer found situations that best explored this theme. 

For example, in the scene below:
- Ruby is the link for her parents to the hearing world. She often puts the family's needs before her desire to get a singing scholarship.
- The parents, Frank and Jackie, have opinions but feel isolated because they can't communicate with hearing people .
- Notice how the writer found a FUN, ENSEMBLE situation that explores the THEME. What does being unseen feels like? Can it be sustained? If not, what change will follow (suspense)?

INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - EXAM ROOM - DAY

Ruby sits between her parents in a tiny exam room, translating for them. She's done this many times. That doesn't make it any less awkward.

FRANK: It's definitely itchy as hell.

RUBY: It itches.

FRANK: My nuts are on fire.

RUBY: His, you know...

FRANK: They're like angry hard little beets. Covered in barnacles.

RUBY: I got it.

FRANK: And your mother's got it even worse. Like a boiled lobster claw.

Ruby squirms, mortified.

DOCTOR: Right, so the layman's term for what you both have is "jock itch." It's common if you spend a lot of time in damp clothes. And it's easily transferable via intercourse.

RUBY (to her dad): You guys have jock itch.

DOCTOR: I'll give you an antifungal cream. But you both have to keep the area dry and avoid sex for two weeks.

RUBY (to her parents): You two need clean underwear. And you're not allowed to do it anymore.

FRANK: What?! For how long?

RUBY (to her parents): Never again. Done for life.

Frank and Jackie stare at her.

RUBY (CONT'D)(caving): Two weeks.

JACKIE: Can't do it.

FRANK: Impossible.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I really like the feel of the overall piece.  It's an ensemble, united by a similar theme, yet full of distinct characters.

CODA (2021)
by Sian Heder
Based on La Famille Belier

2022 OSCARS: King Richard (2021) - Using Backstory with a Purpose

[Quick Summary: Richard Williams has a unlikely plan for his two daughters, Venus and Serena, to become tennis champions.]

This is a well-written sports biopic, though it wasn't new or cutting edge. 

However, I did like how the writer used of backstory to confront a character, rather than the usual "information dump."

The best example is late in the script (below):
- After Richard refuses to let Venus play in a tournament, his wife Orcene confronts him.
- Notice the backstory is used as evidence of quitting or not quitting. How many do you find? I found at least 8.

INT. WILLIAMS' HOME (FLORIDA) - MOMENTS LATER

...ORACENE: ...There would be no dream if it wasn't for me. I carried those girls, inside me and on my back. And I carried you too. I worked two shifts putting food on our table. (#1) That open stance stroke -- you got that from me! (#2) I fixed Serena's serve when you kept messing it up! (#3)

RICHARD: When you what?

ORACENE: Yeah, that's right. I fixed that toss you messed up. I've been here dreaming and believing the whole time, just like you. You just don't want to see me.

RICHARD:  Whatchu want? A thank-you?

ORACENE: That's all right Richard. I don't need your thank you. Unlike you, I don't need the world to tell me I'm great.

At that, Richard starts to walk off. 

ORACENE: That's right. Go ahead. Walk away. You are good at that. That's what you do, right? When things get hard, you just quit. Like you did with your cement business (#4) and your cleaning company. (#5) And all your other kids. (#6)

RICHARD: Oh, you got something you need to get off your chest? Well don't let God stop you. Say what you wanna say.

ORACENE: I just said it! You don't think I remember your son showing up in his red Nissan truck and knock on our door, and all you had to say was, 'Look, it's my son. He found me' (#7)-- or when your other kids came after. (#8) See, another woman would have left, but I stayed 'cause I don't quit. You're the one who leaves...

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I really liked how the writer used the backstory with a defined purpose, i.e., to show the long family history with quitting/not quitting. 

King Richard (2021)(final)
by Zach Baylin

2022 OSCARS: Don't Look Up (2021) - Why is Big, Ridiculous, Actual (Not Metaphorical) Seduction Possible in Satire?

[Quick Summary: After a Ph.D. student sees a comet coming to destroy Earth, she and a professor try to warn the White House...but everyone has their own agendas.]

Satire (n.): The use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

A satire about society at large is tricky, lest it become "preachy" or "dull." 

I thought this script was rather effective.  It focuses on a societal folly, i.e., foolishness of throwing away long term benefits for the short term gain.

This is best seen in the story arc of Dr. Randall, the professor.

He begins as a sincerely worried scientist, but then he falls for the media hype and attention, especially from tv show personality Brie Evantee.  

The fun thing about satire is that the writer is not limited to the metaphorical.  

The writer can (and did) expose Randall's metaphorical media seduction by showing an actual Brie Evantee seduction:

INT. FANCY HOTEL - DAY

Randall and Brie Evantee walk down a hallway. Brie pulls Randall in for a kiss and they start having sex against the wall in a posh Manhattan hotel.

BRIE EVANTEE: Tell me we're all going to die...

RANDALL: What?

BRIE EVANTEE: tell me we're all going to die... Do it...

RANDALL: We're all going to die...

BRIE EVANTEE: Ohhhh!!!!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Big, ridiculous scenes are possible in satire because ridicule is the point.

Don't Look Up (2021)
by Adam McKay
Story by Adam McKay and David Sirota