Screwball Comedy

Allyson RenoAlexa Buglione

Settings• Common places (cities and

towns)• Sunny days• Average nights

• Never just stays in one place

Characters• Male Cross Dressing• Slutty Curious Girls• Horny Males/Women

• Thief's• Runaways

• Awkward People• Mistaken Identities• Rebellious Characters

Actors/Actresses

•Young adults and teenagers

•Non Serious• Adults

EXAMPLES!

• Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Katharine Hepburn, Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett, May Robson, Fritz Feld, Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Sean William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid

Stories• Battle of the sexes

• Contrast between the middle class and wealthy

• Twists on divorce and re-marriage• Relationships (dating and friendships)

• Dealing with society

Scenes

• Romantic• Awkward

• Misunderstanding• Sexual innuendo and word play

• Nonsense• Ridiculous Situations

Iconography

• Beds• Bedrooms• Hotels/motels• Boats• Jail

• Summer camps• Alcohol• Restaurants• Illegal substances• Summer Houses• Cigarettes• Cars

Visual Style• Normal lighting, no special

effects for the most part• Not many different shots used,

medium shots• No specific focus in each shot

Sound Track• Voice over narration• Songs with lyrics

• Thoughts of a character• Music from activities going on in

the background of the scene

Notable films

• It Happened One Night (1934)Directed By: Frank Capra• Bringing Up Baby (1938)Directed By: Howard Hawks• American Pie (1999)Directed by: Paul Weitz

It Happened One Night(1934)

• One of the greatest “screwball” romantic comedies

• Ellie Andrews married King Wesley even though her father objected it, so he hold her

“prisoner” on his yacht;• She doesn’t want to put up with her father so

she jumps off the boat and swims to shore, and from there runs away…

Continued• In the process of running away she meets Peter Warne. They make a deal to help each

other out, if not they will both regret it.• The two end up traveling together, and Ellie

soon falls in love with Peter; but she found herself alone at a motel one night and she

believes that he was only in it for the reward her father had out for her. So she went back

to King Wesley.

Bringing Up Baby(1938)

• David Huxley is a paleontologist who needs to finish a dinosaur exhibit and land a one million dollar grant for his museum.

• Susan Vance is a scattered brained young women who uses her pet leopard, named Baby, to get what she wants.

Continued

• Susan uses her pet leopard to trick David into driving her to get Connecticut home; this is when a dog sneaks into his room and steals and buries the last vital bone he needs. But the real trouble starts when a leopard escapes from the zoo and Baby is mistaken for it.

• But the both of them end up in the local jail; and the two mismatched pair fall in love through all the insanity.

American Pie(1999)

• Four friends make a pact that they will loose their virginity before the graduate; and they think senior prom is their chance to “score.”

• Whilst Oz begins singing to grab attention• Kevin tries to persuade his girlfriend• Finch tries any easy route of spreading rumors• Jim fails miserably.• From their experiences they all learn and/or

realize something new.