I have a particularly strange penchant for American comedies that were released between 1991 and 1998. These comedies had a few things in common. They starred someone who was quite big on TV at the time, and a movie studio decided to give them a contract to star in some low budget movies to see how they'd do.
The first one did OK business, then the other sank without a trace.
Damon Wayans, Pauly Shore, Phil Hartman, Sinbad, and a few other actors were in these, and although they never really gained an audience here in the UK, I have to see every one of them, because they all have the same narrative structure to them.
And here's the method of that narrative.
We have our star, who has some sort of wacky trait. They are in close proximity to someone who doesn't like them very much. That attitude eventually changes. They bond and become friends. Something happens that cause this friendship to finish abruptly, either someone loses their job, or our hero has been double crossed.
But rest assured, all will be good come the end, the hero will get the love interest, the the hero and main plot character will bond, and every one will laugh come the end.
There is always an Obi Wan type character in the film, here it's Robert Guillame, and there is always someone who wants them to fail, here it's Art La Fleur, but guess what, he warms to him come the end.
Sinbad is watchable enough he's likable, and the concept here is that he's assigned to look after the Presidents son, who's a little bit of a cheeky chappie, why, in the first scene, he gets a member of the Secret Service fired, I wonder where that plot goes too?
So Sinbad teaches him how to box, how to talk to girls, and things are going smoothly, until the bond ends abruptly. Even though you know what's going to happen the minute the film starts, these are my kryptonite, I'll always go back to them, because they are so easy going.
They are not brilliant by any means, m sometimes embarrassed to watch them with other people, but they are comfort movies, and so entires that's what you want a film to give you.
The first one did OK business, then the other sank without a trace.
Damon Wayans, Pauly Shore, Phil Hartman, Sinbad, and a few other actors were in these, and although they never really gained an audience here in the UK, I have to see every one of them, because they all have the same narrative structure to them.
And here's the method of that narrative.
We have our star, who has some sort of wacky trait. They are in close proximity to someone who doesn't like them very much. That attitude eventually changes. They bond and become friends. Something happens that cause this friendship to finish abruptly, either someone loses their job, or our hero has been double crossed.
But rest assured, all will be good come the end, the hero will get the love interest, the the hero and main plot character will bond, and every one will laugh come the end.
There is always an Obi Wan type character in the film, here it's Robert Guillame, and there is always someone who wants them to fail, here it's Art La Fleur, but guess what, he warms to him come the end.
Sinbad is watchable enough he's likable, and the concept here is that he's assigned to look after the Presidents son, who's a little bit of a cheeky chappie, why, in the first scene, he gets a member of the Secret Service fired, I wonder where that plot goes too?
So Sinbad teaches him how to box, how to talk to girls, and things are going smoothly, until the bond ends abruptly. Even though you know what's going to happen the minute the film starts, these are my kryptonite, I'll always go back to them, because they are so easy going.
They are not brilliant by any means, m sometimes embarrassed to watch them with other people, but they are comfort movies, and so entires that's what you want a film to give you.
