Noises Off: hilarious play. And the movie is excellently executed.
Sims' observations: I long for a day where creators actually have the bravery to edit their creations based on audience reaction, rather than on editor's suggestions or marketer's best guess as to "what will sell". We're in an age of disposable entertainment, and it shows; while Three Stooges or Marx Brothers or Chaplin are still funny, watching a "comedy" from the 80s or (heaven forbid) the 70s is a painful, out-of-body experience (go watch Porky's and try to figure out why it was a hit).
That being said, as a creator (in this case author), I know how hard it is to "eat your children" and cut parts that don't work. Vaudeville (in its proper, trisyllabic origins) was about being funny or starving, and doing daily shows to an audience with large but not complete turn-over and immediate; excellent impetus and opportunity to hone one's material.
The only comparable market today seems to be stand-up comedy. Nowadays audiences are further away, harder to hear*, less vocal, and less frequent, and it makes it hard to improve the quality of work. And if you do get an audience, too often they're "nice" -- "Oh, your story was nice." "That play was nice." "You did a great job acting." "The scenery was nice." Feh. Tell me what you think and maybe I can fix it.
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Date: 2004-03-29 07:05 am (UTC)Sims' observations: I long for a day where creators actually have the bravery to edit their creations based on audience reaction, rather than on editor's suggestions or marketer's best guess as to "what will sell". We're in an age of disposable entertainment, and it shows; while Three Stooges or Marx Brothers or Chaplin are still funny, watching a "comedy" from the 80s or (heaven forbid) the 70s is a painful, out-of-body experience (go watch Porky's and try to figure out why it was a hit).
That being said, as a creator (in this case author), I know how hard it is to "eat your children" and cut parts that don't work. Vaudeville (in its proper, trisyllabic origins) was about being funny or starving, and doing daily shows to an audience with large but not complete turn-over and immediate; excellent impetus and opportunity to hone one's material.
The only comparable market today seems to be stand-up comedy. Nowadays audiences are further away, harder to hear*, less vocal, and less frequent, and it makes it hard to improve the quality of work. And if you do get an audience, too often they're "nice" -- "Oh, your story was nice." "That play was nice." "You did a great job acting." "The scenery was nice." Feh. Tell me what you think and maybe I can fix it.
(shameless self-promotion)