Honouring the Horrific

I was having a conversation recently with a friend about hard-to-watch moments in the movies. I'm not talking about peek-through-your-fingers gore shots in horror movies... that's safe in the realm of the fantastical, even when the horror is a somewhat realistic one. I'm talking about scenes -- often inciting incidents -- in films that otherwise appear to be straight-up dramas. They're the ones that pull the rug out from under you.

The movie we were discussing was Nurse Betty -- a fairly good-natured, quirky dramedy about a waitress who, for a while, gets involved with a soap opera actor she believes to be the character he plays on TV.

Fun premise, right? Only problem is laying the groundwork for a character who might possibly think an actor is their character.

Nurse Betty's inciting incident is Betty's witnessing of her husband's scalping. It's horrible... but it has to be horrible, because the whole rest of the story relies on the character's temporary (and somewhat understandable) mental break. Betty's brain can't deal -- so it protects her.

Another example, that I've mentioned in a comment on a previous post, is the curbing scene in American History X. Another unwatchably horrible inciting incident. And yet... if a movie like this is going to attempt a dramatic redemption by a neo-Nazi, the neo-Nazi protagonist has got to start out really, really low. I still don't love the movie; I still love that the movie sets out to redeem a character who, first thing, commits an unforgiveable act. That's a movie that loves a challenge.

So it seems to me that there are sometimes some very good reasons for including horrific acts in your non-horror scripts. You may have your own favourites -- I'd love to hear 'em.

Dramedy or Comedy-Lite?

2006 saw the release of both The Breakup, a mostly unfunny, almost-too-authentic tale of a couple splitting up, as well as Stranger Than Fiction, a mostly unfunny, but sweet, gentle story of redemption and what it means to really live. I don't dislike either movie, but I have to say, I'm a little surprised that two of the classier (read: attracted great casts 30+ and were clearly targeting grown-ups) pictures of the year would walk this tonal line.

The kicker is, both of these movies have comic premises. They've just got great comic hooks. Instead, each movie went for something that was, perhaps, more interesting... but definitely less funny. What is this, as a genre? Unsuccessful comedy? Successful dramedy?

I was disappointed by both films, because to me, many a dramedy is just a comedy lacking self-esteem. Imagine if these films had kept their story structures, and their great characters, and their strong thematic threads, and been funny.

They'd be elevated from "might rent" to "must own".

It can be done. Groundhog Day. 40 Year-Old Virgin. Sideways. Little Miss Sunshine. About a Boy. Any one of them could have had their comic teeth extracted, and a solid story would remain. Instead, they reached higher.

With their comic teeth. Or something. You know what I mean.