| If you ask a comedy writer what their specialty is, a lot of the time that writer is going to say 'character driven comedy.' And that's fine. A lot of comedy is character driven. But what would you do if someone said, "What do you mean by that?" Maybe you have the answer right now. If so, that's great. You should stop reading. But if you 're not quite sure what exactly 'character driven' means, or how it applies to your writing, keep reading. |  |
Character Driven Comedy
So the situation I described above actually happened to me and Chelsea a month or two ago. Someone (not in the industry) asked us what we wrote. We replied, "character driven comedy" and they said "What's that?"
We kind of stammered for a second before we came up with an answer. We know that we write character driven comedy, almost innately. But what is it, exactly? And is there even such a thing as a movie or TV show that's not character driven? Everything has characters, right?
And that's when we realized, we had never actually taken a minute to understand what exactly character driven comedy is.
But then we figured it out...
In character driven comedy, jokes come from the decisions each character makes, how they enact those decisions, and from the unique way that character thinks and talks.
So in character driven scripts, the tone is not 'jokey' at all. Characters don't come off as though they are trying to say something funny. Instead, the stuff they say or do is funny just because of who they are.
One-liners are not character driven, because they are typically funny no matter who says them. Same thing with knock-knock jokes.
Modern Family is a perfect example of a character driven comedy. Although sometimes a character will utter a funny turn of phrase or one-liner type joke, the best moments come from who the characters are as people.
Airplane is a little bit less character driven. It often relies on sight, sound, or wordplay gags to get laughs.
We kind of stammered for a second before we came up with an answer. We know that we write character driven comedy, almost innately. But what is it, exactly? And is there even such a thing as a movie or TV show that's not character driven? Everything has characters, right?
And that's when we realized, we had never actually taken a minute to understand what exactly character driven comedy is.
But then we figured it out...
In character driven comedy, jokes come from the decisions each character makes, how they enact those decisions, and from the unique way that character thinks and talks.
So in character driven scripts, the tone is not 'jokey' at all. Characters don't come off as though they are trying to say something funny. Instead, the stuff they say or do is funny just because of who they are.
One-liners are not character driven, because they are typically funny no matter who says them. Same thing with knock-knock jokes.
Modern Family is a perfect example of a character driven comedy. Although sometimes a character will utter a funny turn of phrase or one-liner type joke, the best moments come from who the characters are as people.
Airplane is a little bit less character driven. It often relies on sight, sound, or wordplay gags to get laughs.
Here's why this stuff matters
Character driven comedy isn't inherently better or worse than jokier material.
When people are flipping channels on Direct TV, looking for something to watch, they don't have a bias against one type of comedy or another. They just like what they like, and they end up watching whatever catches their eye.
But if you're pitching yourself as a writer, you need to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. And describing your comedy as 'character driven' would be a mistake if you didn't understand the meaning of the term.
Beyond that, it's important to keep this distinction in mind when you're crafting your movie or pilot.
Lots of comedy writers fall into the trap of inserting jokey comedy into concepts and scripts that are essentially character driven. If you do that, the tone of your screenplay is going to feel off, and the script will confuse readers.
Readers will tell you that the tone is 'inconsistent.' You won't get any more information than that, but I promise... That means your mixing the two brands of comedy in a clunky way. (If you're going character driven, aim for maybe 5% 'jokey' jokes. Invert it if you're going for something more slapstick.)
When people are flipping channels on Direct TV, looking for something to watch, they don't have a bias against one type of comedy or another. They just like what they like, and they end up watching whatever catches their eye.
But if you're pitching yourself as a writer, you need to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. And describing your comedy as 'character driven' would be a mistake if you didn't understand the meaning of the term.
Beyond that, it's important to keep this distinction in mind when you're crafting your movie or pilot.
Lots of comedy writers fall into the trap of inserting jokey comedy into concepts and scripts that are essentially character driven. If you do that, the tone of your screenplay is going to feel off, and the script will confuse readers.
Readers will tell you that the tone is 'inconsistent.' You won't get any more information than that, but I promise... That means your mixing the two brands of comedy in a clunky way. (If you're going character driven, aim for maybe 5% 'jokey' jokes. Invert it if you're going for something more slapstick.)
What Now?
What's your favorite character driven comedy of all time?
Comment below!
Comment below!