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Action comedy

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The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the American action film genre in the 1980s when actors who had backgrounds in comedy such as Eddie Murphy began taking roles in action films.[1] The genre approaches various narratives and styles such as buddy films, superhero films, and Hong Kong action cinema featuring various actors such as Jackie Chan.

Action comedy has also been a recurring theme in television, with series such as The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) and Peacemaker (2022).[citation needed]

Film

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Academic Yvonne Tasker that most post-classical Hollywood action films are "more or less hybrids."[2] Action films are set across multiple settings and spaces with no single defining landscape and can become complicated in categorization which is sometimes acknowledged through hybridized designators such as action comedy.[3]

Characteristics

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Cynthia King referred to action comedy films as typically being reserved for action films where humor plays a much more central role.[4] These films take on several other formats such as buddy films involving mismatched partners such as the Lethal Weapon (1987-1998) and Rush Hour (1998-2006) film series, Hong Kong action cinema through work of actors like Jackie Chan and many others, and more comedic superhero films such as Mystery Men (1999), Hancock (2008) and The Green Hornet (2011).[5]

Elements of action comedy films existed in early cinema work such as the chase sequences in pre-1915 films such as The Lonedale Operator (1911) provide editing patterns of later action films such as Wheels on Meals (1984).[6] Later silent film comedy such as those featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton such as Easy Street (1917) and The General (1926) featured chases, gags and stunts that would serve as inspirations for both comedic and non-comedic action set pieces in later action films.[7] These films include Chaplin and Keaton using physical materials on stage, either weapons or props, to for cause and effect to add force on bodily actions.[8]

King wrote that despite a large cinematic history of humor and peril, the action comedy film only "came into its own" as part of American action film genre in the early 1980s. In spite of the rich theatrical history of humor and peril, action comedy only came into its own as a mainstay of the American action film genre in the 1980s. King highlighted that this happened when actors who had backgrounds in comedy such as Eddie Murphy began taking roles in action films.[1]

In his book, Lights, Camera, Action: Crafting an Action Script (2005), Gregory Sarno said that the action comedy film that not all films that contain conflict and humor were action comedies saying that films that action-laden subplots such as Big Momma's House (2000) or Dumb & Dumber (1994) were more straight comedies as the action lacked an integral roll in the films narrative.[9] King echoed this stating that films are better categorized as straight comedy such as Night at the Museum (2006) or Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) as most of the action was framed comically with no serious violence or peril and similarly, action films that contain sardonic one-liners such as "Go ahead, make my day" from Sudden Impact (1983) are not action comedies.[10]

Mark Gallagher, in Action Figures: Men, Action Films and Contemporary Adventure Narratives (2006) action comedies often feature a fish out of water theme such as Murphy's character clashing with upper-class white communities and conventional police procedures in the Beverly Hills Cop film series.[11]

List of films

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List of action comedy films
Film Year Ref.
21 Jump Street 2012 [12]
22 Jump Street 2014 [12]
48 Hrs. 1982 [12]
American Made 2017 [12]
Ant-Man 2015 [12]
Ant-Man and the Wasp 2018 [12]
Attack the Block 2011 [13]
Bad Boys 1995 [14]
Bad Boys for Life 2020 [12]
Big Trouble in Little China 1986 [12]
Beverly Hills Cop 1984 [12]
Birds of Prey 2020 [12]
Black Dynamite 2009 [12]
The Blues Brothers 1980 [12]
The Cabin in the Woods 2011 [13]
D.E.B.S. 2004 [13]
Deadpool 2016 [12]
Deadpool 2 2018 [12]
Deadpool & Wolverine 2024 [15]
Drive-Away Dolls 2024 [13]
Drunken Master II 1994 [12]
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 2023 [13]
Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022 [13]
The Fall Guy 2024 [13]
Free Guy 2021 [12]
Galaxy Quest 1999 [13]
Game Night 2018 [12]
Get Smart 2008 [14]
The General 1926 [12]
The Gentlemen 2019 [12]
Ghostbusters 1984 [13]
Guardians of the Galaxy 2014 [12]
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017 [12]
The Heat 2013 [14]
Hit Man 2023 [13]
Hot Fuzz 2007 [12]
If Looks Could Kill 1991 [16]
The Interview 2014 [14]
Johnny English 2003 [14]
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2017 [14]
Keanu 2016 [12]
Kick-Ass 2010 [12]
Kingsman: The Secret Service 2014 [12]
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 2005 [12]
Kung Fu Hustle 2004 [12]
Lethal Weapon 1987 [12]
Lethal Weapon 2 1989 [12]
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 [12]
Logan Lucky 2007 [13]
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 2015 [13]
The Mask 1994 [13]
Men in Black 1997 [12]
Midnight Run 1988 [12]
Miss Congeniality 2000 [13]
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2005 [13]
The Nice Guys 2016 [12]
Now You See Me 2 2016 [13]
The Other Guys 2010 [12]
The Paper Tigers 2020 [12]
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003 [13]
Polite Society 2023 [13]
The Princess Bride 1987 [13]
Red 2010 [12]
Ride Along 2014 [14]
Romancing the Stone 1984 [12]
Rumble in the Bronx 1995 [12]
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 2010 [12]
Shanghai Noon 2000 [12]
Shaolin Soccer 2001 [12]
Shaun of the Dead 2004 [14]
Shazam! 2019 [12]
Sherlock Holmes 2009 [13]
Shotgun Wedding 2022 [13]
Something Wild 1986 [12]
Spy 2015 [12]
Spy Kids 2001 [13]
The Suicide Squad 2021 [12]
Supercop 1992 [12]
Tag 2018 [13]
Team America: World Police 2004 [12]
Thor: Ragnarok 2017 [12]
Three Kings 1999 [12]
Tropic Thunder 2008 [12]

TV series

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List of action comedy TV series
TV series Year(s) Ref.
The A-Team 1983–1987 [17]
Burn Notice 2007–2013 [18]
Chuck 2007–2012 [19]
Doom Patrol 2020–2022 [20]
The Dukes of Hazzard 1979–1985 [21]
Future Man 2017–2020 [22]
Kidd Video 1984–1985 [21]
Lethal Weapon 2016–2019 [22]
Our Flag Means Death 2022-2023 [23]
Peacemaker 2022 [24]
Remington Steele 1982–1987 [25]
Rush Hour 2016 [26]
Teenage Bounty Hunters 2020 [27]

References

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  1. ^ a b King 2019, p. 141.
  2. ^ Tasker 2004, p. 4.
  3. ^ Holmund, Purse & Tasker 2024, p. 2.
  4. ^ King 2019, p. 140.
  5. ^ King 2019, p. 140-141.
  6. ^ Barrowman 2019, p. 19.
  7. ^ Barrowman 2019, pp. 19–20.
  8. ^ Barrowman 2019, p. 20.
  9. ^ Sarno 2005, p. 3.
  10. ^ King 2019, p. 142.
  11. ^ Gallagher 2006, p. 163.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax Vo, Alex (August 10, 2021). "The 50 Best Action-Comedy Movies, Ranked By Tomatometer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Thomas, Leah Marilla (July 30, 2024). "These 35 Comedy Action Movies Add 'Ha Has' To Your 'Pew Pews'". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Calderon, Jenna (September 28, 2020). "The Best Action Comedy Movies of All Time". Men's Health. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  15. ^ "Deadpool & Wolverine | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  16. ^ Baldwin, Daniel (July 29, 2016). "From Grieco With Love: Remembering 'If Looks Could Kill'". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  17. ^ Beard, Matthew (October 23, 2003). "'A-Team' is viewers' most-wanted oldie for prime-time revival". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Staff (March 14, 2010). "Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  19. ^ Proulx, Mike; Shepatin, Stacey (2012). Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social Media, and Mobile. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-23965-0.
  20. ^ Butler, Karen (October 10, 2022). "Season 4 of 'Doom Patrol' to premiere on Dec. 8". upi.com. UPI. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-0374-6.
  22. ^ a b "Action Comedy". hulu.com. Hulu. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  23. ^ Shachat, Sarah (March 12, 2022). "How 'Our Flag Means Death' Built a Realistic but Farcical Pirate Ship". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Truitt, Brian (January 13, 2022). "How HBO Max's 'Peacemaker' became a hair metal superhero spin on the ensemble comedy". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  25. ^ Taylor, Larry (2018). "Nomads". John McTiernan: The Rise and Fall of an Action Movie Icon. McFarland. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4766-3233-9.
  26. ^ Swift, Andy (September 30, 2014). "Rush Hour TV Series In the Works for CBS from Bill Lawrence, Brett Ratner". TVLine. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  27. ^ Nemetz, Dave (July 30, 2020). "Teenage Bounty Hunters Trailer: High School Girls Kick Ass After Class in Netflix's Edgy Action Comedy". TVLine. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

References

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Sources

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