Tag: Movie

Comedy in “Mrs. Doubtfire”

On By Catherine C.In Comedy/Satire, FilmLeave a comment

The classic movie “Mrs. Doubtfire”, starring Robin Williams, showcases Aristotle’s definition of comedy. In this film, Daniel, a father, wants to see his children after a divorce from his wife, who limits the time he gets to spend with them. He dresses up as a nanny with a particular disguise and convinces his ex-wife that he’s a woman. His name is now “Mrs. Doubtfire.” Through his new experiences with his kids, he becomes a better man and father, and his kids become better, too. However, all good things come to an end when Mrs. Doubtfire and Daniel need to be at the same restaurant at the same time.

We follow Aristotle’s definition of comedy through Daniel’s journey, as one that follows the ordinary person and the comic hero, and Daniel sure has some charm to him…maybe. We can empathize with Daniel and feel more sympathetic toward him because of his situation. Daniel is the underdog at the beginning. But seeing his kids through new experiences, he becomes a better person. His character eventually falls again because of the discovery of his persona, but it gets better from here. There’s an almost bittersweet ending: Daniel is on much better terms with his ex-wife and becomes the babysitter for his kids, who can see them whenever he wants. His career grows with the persona of Mrs. Doubtfire. 

Initially, Daniel is ordinary, just like any one of us. He resembles the pain of families facing divorce. But he develops throughout the movie and changes his personality because he succeeds as a father.

The Menu

On By Trinity M.In Comedy/Satire1 Comment

Mark Mylod’s The Menu portrays the intimidating setting of an expensive restaurant filled with rich diners. One table seating ignorant engineers, one table seating a wealthy old couple, a few B-list celebrities, and other upper class customers.

The film successfully points out narcissism, greed, and arrogance through the use of satire. The chef has become a tortured soul that no longer finds the joy in his art, overwhelmed by the pretentious guests of his restaurant.

The film uses an exaggerated form of the intimidating dining experience in order to reveal the faults of the restaurant industry. Guests are injured, their history is exposed, and they are forced to complete immoral acts and fight for their lives.

One of the main characters, a man with a complete obsession with the chef, idolizes all of his actions to the point of murder. The audience is shocked with this turn of events, yet the guest proceeds with his instructions and sacrifices himself for his passion of food.

This film is striving to point out the extremities of the food industry and how an innocent work of art has grown to reveal superiority and competition. The film shows the over-consumption of art and how modern society has tarnished the real meaning of a piece.

How The Floor Built A Balanced Life

On By AMELIA R.In Trust (film) - Hal Hartley2 Comments

The movie Trust by Hal Hartley is a romantic film about two misfits who find each other and develop a relationship. The movie starts off with the main character, Maria, slapping her father after an argument and announcing she has become pregnant and dropped out of school. Her dad then collapses on the kitchen floor and dies of heart failure. It was because of her father’s death on that kitchen floor that Maria was kicked out of her house. On the other hand, Matthew is being slapped by his own father because he is not cleaning the bathroom floor well enough. This was after Matthew had cleaned the floor numerous times. These two characters come together after both having issues within their household, but their issues happen to be completely different. Maria’s parents are being punished for her actions, and Matthew is being punished by his father.

Following these incidents, they find sympathy for each other because of their own situations they are going through. They develop a balance between each other. After a while, they began to contribute to the stability in each other’s lives, for example they both got jobs. They began to have this motivating idea of their marriage which would ultimately create a better life for the both of them. When Matthew wanted to quit his job, Maria would talk him out of it, and when Maria wanted to get an abortion, it was Matthew who was there and ultimately convinced her to not get it. At the end of the movie when Matthew had the grenade in his hand, Maria was there for him. From the connection over conflict in their own homes, to finding something to live for, Maria and Matthew balanced each other out and found trust within their relationship.

Groundhog Day and Bittersweet Lessons

On By Isabelle J.In Comedy/Satire2 Comments

Whether or not you’ve seen the movie, you’ve probably heard of the expression “it feels like groundhog day”. The phrase indeed refers to the iconic 1993 movie, Groundhog Day. The movie stars Bill Murray who plays an arrogant weatherman, Phil Connors, traveling to Pennsylvania to report on their annual Groundhog day ceremony. Phil quickly realizes he is trapped reliving that same day, February 2nd, no matter what he does. Despite his attempts to change his actions and escape Pennslyvania, Phil wakes up in the same place on the same day every morning.

The reason for the time loop is left unanswered, but the story’s central conflict is still Murray’s inability to escape it. The movie perfectly encapsulates “the rise and fall of a sympathetic figure”. Phil initially comes off as a pretty unlikeable character, and in a way, his circumstances almost seem like karmic justice for his obnoxiousness yet you cannot help but pity him for the tortuous and maddening effects of having to relive the same day, potentially forever. Phil explores the limits of his predicament by jumping off buildings, binge-eating junk food, smoking cigarettes, and duping people. He eventually learns to take advantage of his situation, for example, he takes piano lessons and plans the perfect date to impress a woman he likes. Rita, his love interest is ultimately what helps inspire him to change his character, in a way making the film a sort of romantic comedy.

By the end of the movie, Phil had learned to become a better, more compassionate person. The comedic and absurd nature by which it took him to reflect on his treatment of others is what makes the story powerful. The transformation of a rude and arrogant character into a compassionate one is not a new concept in the world of stories, but the way this movie told that story is what makes it particularly unique. The concept of a time loop allowed Phil to go through countless stages of philosophical outlooks on his life; egoism, his initial outlook, and his character at the beginning of the movie when he is rude to everyone around him.  Hedonism, when he recklessly engages in self-indulgence after realizing he gets to redo the day. Nihilism, when he becomes so depressed with his situation that he tries to kill himself. And altruism, when he wakes up on February 3rd after learning the importance of generosity and living in the moment. 

Ultimately, the movie has gone down in history as a classic for a reason, it tells the story of human greed and compassion without being heavy and depressing but rather in a light-hearted comedic manner that forces the viewers to imagine what they would have done in that situation themselves and simultaneously come to the conclusion that life is about the little things, and every day is important.

The Horrific Brilliance of Get Out

On By SYDNEY GIn Comedy/Satire3 Comments

Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, is a Mystery/Thriller movie that was released in 2017. As a realistic thriller fan, I had been looking forward to seeing this movie as soon as the first few trailers started coming out (practically a year before the actual movie was released). You can click this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG_KHjd_PSc to see one of the many examples of satire shown throughout the movie. 

I would definitely classify this movie as more of a “horror parody”. Although I didn’t necessarily realize all of the examples of satire and irony in the film while I was watching it, all of the scenes and their true meaning started to make sense to me after I had watched the whole film. Even now, almost three years after I originally saw the movie, I still read articles and watch videos about the true meaning and hidden messages behind certain scenes in the film. One of the most shown examples of satire woven throughout the movie is the idea of “liberal racism”, i.e. the white family members talking about how much they love black people and their “genetic makeup” to the point that it objectifies them and unravels to show racism at its purest form. The wealthy white characters are so obsessed with Chris (main character, black boyfriend to a white girl) and the way he looks and acts that it almost comes off as disrespectful and most definitely intrusive. 

Another example of satire is the concept of racism and its relationship with police. When Rose (Chris’s girlfriend) is pulled over, the police officer asks for Chris’s ID, even though he was just a passenger in the car. Rose then flips out on the officer, asking him why he would ever need to see the passengers ID, which contributes to her characterization as someone trying so hard not to show their racism that it backfires. Jordan Poole is depicting a scene of racism and exaggerating it to show just how ridiculous some of the situations black people find themselves in due to facing a bias/stereotype truly are, especially with the police. 

Jordan Poole, in my opinion, does a truly outstanding job in showing all of the examples of racism that people look past in society. This movie definitely helped me to better understand the world around me, and I hope it did that for others as well.