The Jokes and Funny Lines Come Organically

Most of the  Comedy movie screenplays I read aren’t funny enough or aren’t funny at all. Paper-thin characters say supposedly funny lines that are stupid, stale, obvious and easy. (There’s nothing easier than writing a dick joke). Those same characters are in situations that, much of the time, are unbelievable. How many times have you watched a movie and thought to yourself, “I don’t believe that?”

Some might argue that it’s a comedy and there doesn’t have to be a lot of logic or situations based on reality. That might work on the lesser television sitcoms, but the best film comedies, certainly romantic comedies, are grounded in some semblance of how life really is.

Many comedies of the last decade are based around a premise and jokes are written to compliment it rather than having a character in a comedic situation who must strive to get what he or she wants. The jokes and funny lines come organically as the character moves towards his goal.

The question screenwriters of comedies need to ask themselves is: where do you find fodder for humor? Where do you find the ideas for the lines you want a character to say and have an audience laugh at -- and before that, someone important reading the script.