action comedy
{{Short description|Film and TV genre}}
The action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. Films in this genre feature "fast and furious" action that is mostly lighthearted, with humor often derived from the characters rather than intense action sequences. Early examples include The General (1926) and swashbuckler films of the 1930s, while the genre became more common in the 1980s with buddy cop films and works featuring actors like Jackie Chan. In the 1990s, the genre incorporated more violent humor, and it continued to evolve in the 21st century with numerous notable films.
Action comedy has also been a recurring theme in television, with series such as The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) and Peacemaker (2022).
Film
AllMovie describes action comedy films as those with "fast and furious" action yet being "mostly lighthearted", rarely having death or serious injury. The Script Lab wrote, "[The genre] relies on the characters to bring out the humor, while the action scenes tend to be less intense than in the traditional action movie."{{cite web | last=Buffam | first=Noelle | url=https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/948-action/ | title=Action | work=The Script Lab | date=March 12, 2011 | access-date=December 5, 2022 | archive-date=February 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208170751/https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/948-action/ | url-status=live }}
Action comedies often have "fish out of water" themes; for example, using a starring actor's celebrity to contrast the setting, such as how comedian and actor Eddie Murphy's "streetwise, sarcastic persona clashes with conventional police procedures in the Beverly Hills Cop films" in the late twentieth century.{{cite book | last=Gallagher | first=Mark | chapter=Restaging Heroic Masculinity | year= 2006 | title=Action Figures: Men, Action Films, and Contemporary Adventure Narratives | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | page=163 | isbn=978-1-4039-7723-6 }}
The 1926 film The General starring Buster Keaton may be the first action comedy film.{{cite news | last=St. James | first=Emily | url=https://www.avclub.com/the-general-1798207566 | title=The General | work=The A.V. Club | date=December 9, 2009 | access-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202193257/https://www.avclub.com/the-general-1798207566 | url-status=live | quote=Perhaps the first action comedy, Buster Keaton's defining 1926 classic The General makes great use of Keaton's laws-of-physics-defying body and face... }} Other early forms of action comedy films were swashbuckler films from the 1930s. Allmovie wrote that its "stars combined wit and one-liners with a thrilling plot and daring stunts". In the 1980s, the genre became commonplace, and buddy cop films emerged as an extension of action comedy films such as Midnight Run (1988) and the Lethal Weapon film series.{{cite web | author=Staff | url=https://www.allmovie.com/subgenre/action-comedy-d513 | title=Action >> Action Comedy | work=allmovie.com | publisher=Allmovie | access-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-date=February 12, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212222806/https://www.allmovie.com/subgenre/action-comedy-d513 | url-status=dead }} Other action comedies from the decade included The Blues Brothers (1980) and the films of actor and martial artist Jackie Chan.
In the 1990s, action comedy films "became more violent, with fiery deaths and emphatic shootings increasingly used as punchlines". Rotten Tomatoes wrote that Rush Hour (1998) revitalized the genre's formula and that Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) was a highlight from the decade. In the first two decades of the 21st century, the films Kung Fu Hustle (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), Tropic Thunder (2008), 21 Jump Street (2012), and Bad Boys for Life (2020) were among numerous instances of the genre.
TV series
References
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{{cite magazine | last=Thomas | first=Leah Marilla | url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/g60079761/funniest-action-movies/ | title=These 35 Comedy Action Movies Add 'Ha Has' To Your 'Pew Pews' | magazine=Cosmopolitan | date=July 30, 2024 | accessdate=December 13, 2024 | archive-date=August 14, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814164431/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/g60079761/funniest-action-movies/ | url-status=live }}
{{cite magazine | last=Calderon | first=Jenna | url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/g34183919/funny-action-movies/ | title=The Best Action Comedy Movies of All Time | magazine=Men's Health | date=September 28, 2020 | access-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202201956/https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/g34183919/funny-action-movies/ | url-status=live }}
{{cite news | last=Vo | first=Alex | url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/action-comedies/ | title=The 50 Best Action-Comedy Movies, Ranked By Tomatometer | work=Rotten Tomatoes | publisher=Fandango Media | date=August 10, 2021 | access-date=December 2, 2022 | archive-date=February 18, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218094254/https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/action-comedies/ | url-status=live }}
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Further reading
- {{cite book | last=King | first=Cynthia M. | year=2009 | chapter=Comedy in Action | editor-last=Kendrick | editor-first=James | title=A Companion to the Action Film | publisher=Wiley | isbn=978-1-119-10076-8 | pages=140–164 }}
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