Action comedy

Film and TV genre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Action comedy is a hybrid genre that combines elements of action fiction with comedy. While early action 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)[2] and Peacemaker (2022).[3]

Film

Academic Yvonne Tasker described most post-classical Hollywood action films as "more or less hybrids."[4] 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.[5]

Characteristics

Academic Cynthia King said that the action comedy film 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 (pictured) began taking roles in action films.[1]

Cynthia King said that the term "action comedy" is typically reserved for action films in which humor plays a relatively central role.[6] Such films can take on a wide variety of formats, including buddy films involving mismatched partners such as the Lethal Weapon (1987-1998) and the Rush Hour (1998-2006) film series, as well as Hong Kong action cinema films featuring actors such as Jackie Chan. King also included within the genre the more comedic superhero films such as Mystery Men (1999), Hancock (2008) and The Green Hornet (2011).[7]

Elements of action comedy existed in early cinema, such as the chase sequences in pre-1915 films such as The Lonedale Operator (1911), which anticipate editing patterns of later action films such as Wheels on Meals (1984).[8] Later silent film comedies such as those featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton (e.g., 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.[9] These films include Chaplin and Keaton using physical materials on stage, either weapons or props, to emphasize, affect or respond to their bodily actions.[10]

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, notably 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 not all films containing conflict and humor are action comedies; Sarno considered films with action-laden subplots such as Big Momma's House (2000) and Dumb & Dumber (1994) to be closer to straight comedies because the action lacks an integral role in their narratives.[11] King echoed this point, saying that films such as Night at the Museum (2006) or Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) are better categorized as straight comedies since most of the action is framed comically with no serious violence or peril. She also said that the occurrence of sardonic one-liners in an action film, such as "Go ahead, make my day" from Sudden Impact (1983), is insufficient to categorize such a film as an action comedy.[12]

Mark Gallagher, in Action Figures: Men, Action Films and Contemporary Adventure Narratives (2006), stated that 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 (1984-2024) film series.[13]

List of films

More information Film, Year ...
List of action comedy films
Film Year Ref.
21 Jump Street2012[14]
22 Jump Street2014[14]
48 Hrs.1982[14]
American Made2017[14]
Ant-Man2015[14]
Ant-Man and the Wasp2018[14]
Attack the Block2011[15]
Bad Boys1995[16]
Bad Boys for Life2020[14]
Big Trouble in Little China1986[14]
Beverly Hills Cop1984[14]
Birds of Prey2020[14]
Black Dynamite2009[14]
The Blues Brothers1980[14]
The Cabin in the Woods 2011[15]
D.E.B.S.2004[15]
Deadpool2016[14]
Deadpool 22018[14]
Deadpool & Wolverine2024[17]
Drive-Away Dolls2024[15]
Drunken Master II1994[14]
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves2023[15]
Everything Everywhere All at Once2022[15]
The Fall Guy2024[15]
Free Guy2021[14]
Galaxy Quest1999[15]
Game Night2018[14]
Get Smart2008[16]
The General1926[14]
The Gentlemen2019[14]
Ghostbusters1984[15]
Guardians of the Galaxy2014[14]
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 22017[14]
The Heat2013[16]
Hit Man2023[15]
Hot Fuzz2007[14]
If Looks Could Kill1991[18]
The Interview2014[16]
Johnny English2003[16]
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle2017[16]
Keanu2016[14]
Kick-Ass2010[14]
Kingsman: The Secret Service2014[14]
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005[14]
Kung Fu Hustle2004[14]
Lethal Weapon1987[14]
Lethal Weapon 21989[14]
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels1998[14]
Logan Lucky2007[15]
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.2015[15]
The Mask1994[15]
Men in Black1997[14]
Midnight Run1988[14]
Miss Congeniality2000[15]
Mr. & Mrs. Smith2005[15]
The Nice Guys2016[14]
Now You See Me 22016[15]
The Other Guys2010[14]
The Paper Tigers2020[14]
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl2003[15]
Polite Society2023[15]
The Princess Bride1987[15]
Red2010[14]
Ride Along2014[16]
Romancing the Stone1984[14]
Rumble in the Bronx1995[14]
Rush Hour1998[14]
Rush Hour 22001[14]
Rush Hour 32007[14]
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World2010[14]
Shanghai Noon2000[14]
Shaolin Soccer2001[14]
Shaun of the Dead2004[16]
Shazam!2019[14]
Sherlock Holmes2009[15]
Shotgun Wedding2022[15]
Something Wild1986[14]
Spy2015[14]
Spy Kids2001[15]
The Suicide Squad2021[14]
Supercop1992[14]
Tag2018[15]
Team America: World Police2004[14]
Thor: Ragnarok2017[14]
Three Kings1999[14]
Tropic Thunder2008[14]
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TV series

More information TV series, Year(s) ...
List of action comedy TV series
TV series Year(s) Ref.
The A-Team 1983–1987 [19]
Burn Notice 2007–2013 [20]
Chuck 2007–2012 [21]
Doom Patrol 2020–2022 [22]
The Dukes of Hazzard 1979–1985 [2]
Future Man 2017–2020 [23]
Kidd Video 1984–1985 [2]
Lethal Weapon 2016–2019 [23]
Our Flag Means Death 2022-2023 [24]
Peacemaker 2022 [3]
Remington Steele 1982–1987 [25]
Rush Hour 2016 [26]
Teenage Bounty Hunters 2020 [27]
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References

Sources

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