The fun drunks of the 1930s and 1940s. And the 1950s. And '60s. Back then, when you had a comedy, the drunk character was guaranteed to get a laugh. Slurring, mixing up words, stumbling--winner! It's like the slapstick humor of the silent era. Slapstick isn't really funny unless the person is flopping about, falling down, clumsy. And what's a better way than to be drunk? And with movies in sound, you can have dialogue. Slurring, spoonerizing, confusing dialogue. But our use of drinking is different from these earlier movies, and I wonder why. At the risk of making comedy not funny--just like what would happen if you sat Steve Martin and Julianne Moore down to discuss why comedy is funny (I mean, what the hell is with those guys?!)--I'd like to analyze it.
A list of some drunk scenes in classic films:
City Lights (1931)--the bipolar rich guy
It Happened One Night (1934)--Clark Gable, the drunken reporter
The Thin Man (1934)-- The party scene...and every scene with Myrna Loy and William Powell
My Man Godfrey (1936)--The William Powell freak-out at the end
Holiday (1938)--The brother's scenes....
The Philadelphia Story (1940)--Jimmy Stewart at C.K. Dexter Haven's house; the pool scene; etc.
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)--every elderberry wine scene [does that count?]
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)--After the pool (Now, this is a very interesting situation)
The Egg and I (1947)--Pa Kettle, throughout*
And more modern...
Some Like it Hot (1959)--The train sorority party
The Apartment (1960)--The New Year's Eve party (ring-a-ding ding)
That Touch of Mink (1962)—Doris Day trying to lose her inhibition
Unfor
* I think drunk hick/hillbilly could be it's own subsection. Then we would have Pa Kettle, Guy from those Westerns, Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies, those hillbillies from Andy Griffith (I'd love to put in Goober too, but he probably just had a disability. Same goes for Floyd the Barber), the Moonshiners from Deliverance (ha! Just kidding)
Now, what can we make of this? Well, comedy (is tragedy + time <--no) spawns from embarrassment and feeling uncomfortable, I would say. Some of my friends say that they don't like comedy that involves laughing at someone. And I agree to some extent, because I don't like sadistic comedy about disabilities or injuries. But I will confess that I will occasionally laugh at those things I just listed and feel awful about it afterward. It's cliche to say it, but laughter is a defense mechanism, and I'm someone who laughs at funerals.
What I mean to say, is how much comedy doesn't involve laughing at someone? Slapstick is laughing at clumsiness or even physical injury (but I just don't understand the 3 Stooges). Satire is laughing at the original. Sarcasm is to some extent laughing at the audience. A lot of wordplay involves laughing at Person #2's misunderstanding of Person #1. "Tricksters" in children's movies and fables are funny. I'm having trouble thinking of what would be so-called "safe" comedy…anyone? I’d bet it’s pretty lame. To bring it back, laughing at a drunk person is indeed laughing at someone’s disability, but it’s a temporary one, and therefore rather safe (unless of course the person is a full-blown alcoholic).
But: why were drunks in these comedies portrayed as "delightful"? The Thin Man was clever, and the dialogue was snappiest when Nick and Nora were drinking, which was pretty much through all of it. But they are funny. When the characters are actually alcoholics then it's not so funny (The Lost Weekend). But PA KETTLE is an alcoholic! And he's still funny, if you don't think about it too much (then again, The Egg and I isn't very racist if you don't think about it too much). Listen though, when you're at a party and everyone gets drunk, as long as everyone is a happy drunk, then it's “delightful”. And it's funny because people are acting in a way seemingly contrary to their expected behavior. It's temporary.
This is getting too long, but hold on: today, drunk comedies involve underage drinking. It's illegal, makes you a little uncomfortable because you know it's illegal, so… it's funny? Drug use in film can be funny too (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is hilarious, again, if you don't think about how sad it is), as long as it doesn't involve needles or heavy addiction. But dammit, making fun of crack-heads can be funny, Chappelle.
And stay with me, now: I'd like to point out how drunken office parties in The Apartment, or That Touch of Mink, etc. from the late '50s and '60s were funny in films, but Mad Men, which takes place during the same time period, straight-up shows how drinking highballs all day and picking up secretaries is actually really sad...and disturbing. But those were the good old days, right? Yeah.
So the question is still there: Why was being drunk in films seemingly more acceptable in classic films? Perhaps we have a greater understanding of alcoholism in adults, and leave drunken behaviors to the kids. But then is it still ok today to think Nick and Nora are funny.
I might be seeing this all wrong, and really, I'm open to any discussion on this topic.
