I wrote a paper analyzing the movie Caddyshack in college, in terms of the principles of Greek comedy we were studying.
What was your main idea?
Does the chorus show up in comedies or just the tragedies? I had one Greek drama course in college but it was forever ago (and we focused more on tragedies) so I don’t remember much.
I can’t remember any of the names in Greek, but basically all of the major archetypes and the central thrust of the story were there.
Danny Noonan is obviously the protagonist, the maturing hero. Judge Smails is the central antagonist with money and power. Rodney Dangerfield is the agrokyoy (or something similar), the lovable buffoon who stands in opposition to the antagonist, slowly setting up the central climax of the story by undoing his evil machinations at every turn. Lacey is the beguiling love interest who catches the eye of the hero. Spaulding Smails is the wretched and conniving antagonist who is ultimately powerless to impact the story in any way, mostly just serving as comic relief. Ty Webb is the wise figure who takes the protagonist under his wing and guides him throughout the story.
As the agrokyoy and the antagonist come increasingly into conflict, the protagonist, previously a trivial figure, must step in at the climax of the story and make a fateful choice that represents his coming of age and his own moral victory. Everyone defeats the antagonist, victory is at hand, and everyone leaves leaving only the chorus. Or, in this case, the gopher.
Hey everybody, were all gonna get laid!
Yep, Greek af
That sounds awesome. I really like the Greek myths, (I was even into them as a kid) but the course I took was kinda boring because it was a huge lecture course instead of a seminar. I mean, I’m glad a got a look at a large swath of material but it would’ve been more enjoyable digging deeper into a subset. And maybe the themes would’ve stuck better in my brain a little better too.
That was a pretty awesome analysis, I never would have thought to look at Caddyshack like that. Thanks for sharing!
Tell them large Marge sent ya👾
“It sounded like a dump truck… falling off the Empire State Building!”
And when they pulled the driver’s body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like this…
Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton’s film after Peewee) almost follows the format. No rich guy and he does start to win over the neighborhood. But one mishap orchestrated by Anthony Michael Hall (breaking out of his nerdy character phase) and suddenly the suburbanites go mob mentality. For a fish out of water comedy, it really doesn’t end all that positively.
Edward Scissor hands is a tragedy that had some studio interference soften the ending. Tim Burton tried to bring back the classic tragedy and ended up with the sugar coated gothic that became his signature.
Tbf, few things are more enjoyable than ruining the life of a rich person.
Pump up the volume? If a school principal is a rich person.
I feel like I should know, but what movies are shown in the post?
Also does anyone know some other good movies that fit this criteria? I smell popcorn for a movie marathon.
Left – UHF
Up Right – Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Down Right – Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
All great classics IMO.
Although the last two characters had a few movies and it could be one of the others.
Might not fit this exact scenario but I’d say The Burbs fits the overall genre pretty well.
I found a copy of UHF in my condo buildings recycling bin once, had no idea what it was. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.
Barbie movie
tfw wham!, the internet, or anyone irl will never know you because you’ve spent decades of life anonymously shitposting.
Cool as Ice comes to mind.
I legitimately styled my whole personality around being that passionate weirdo
