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I lived in Chicago for almost 25 years before relocating to sunnier climates, and one of my favorite parts about the Windy City was that it was a cinephile’s paradise. Historic theaters hosted silent movies, film societies programmed classics, and the rarest of indies could be found at Facets Multi-Media or the Gene Siskel Film Center.
“Is It Still Funny? is a recent addition to Chicago’s eclectic cinematic scene. Hosted by film journalist Mark Caro, this terrific series showcases a variety of comedies in order to test their comic viability. The movies are shown once a month on the big screen at the Music Box, one of Chicago’s movie palaces. Afterward, audiences discuss and debate the movie’s comic merits. I knew TCM viewers would want to know more, and Mr. Caro graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his series. His comments are below.
TCM just wrapped “Ouch! A Salute to Slapstick,” which was a rousing tribute to physical comedy on the big screen. I discovered that some of the directors and films featured in “Ouch!” were also included in “Is It Still Funny?” I would love to hear from viewers who regularly watched the movies that were part of “Ouch!” to see if their thoughts were similar to those of Mr. Caro’s audiences.
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CATCH ‘MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL’ AT THE MUSIC BOX IN CHICAGO ON OCTOBER 19.
1. How did “Is It Still Funny?” come about? What inspired this premise for a film program?
MC: Many of my favorite movie memories involve seeing comedies in dark rooms filled with laughing people, yet that experience is so hard to recreate. Comedies change in ways that dramas don’t (especially when you hear jokes more than once). Tastes change; filmmaking styles change; you change. Watch The Godfather at home, and it’ll be pretty much the same Godfather you remember. But try sitting on your couch explaining to your kids how hilarious you thought The Return of the Pink Panther was, and then watch how slow and not so hilarious the movie strikes them.
So I wanted to revisit old comedies under the best of circumstances—in a great old theater such as the Music Box with 35mm prints and an audience in the mood to laugh. And, to think about why those laughs do or don’t arrive. We enjoy the movies together, then talk about them afterward.
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STILL FUNNY: ‘AIRPLANE,’ DIRECTED BY JIM ABRAHAMS, JERRY ZUCKER, AND DAVID ZUCKER, 1980
2. What is the format of the series?
MC: I introduce the film, offering a little bit of background about the movie and my reasons for choosing it, and then we watch it. People hang around afterward as I lead a discussion. I ask the series title question —“Is It Still Funny?”—and also delve into how the film was received upon its release and how attitudes toward it have changed over the years. Aside from participating in the conversation (someone with a microphone roams the audience), viewers receive ballots on which they rate the films on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being “Hilarious—even funnier than I anticipated,” and 1 being “Ugh — how did anyone ever laugh at this?”They can also offer comments and suggest future films for the series.
3. What is your approach for selecting the films for the series, and what criteria are you looking for when considering a title?
MC: I’ve worked with the Music Box to select comedies that: a) have been considered hilarious either upon its release or over time;,b) are movies that audiences might want to visit; c) would spark lively conversations; and d) cover a wide spectrum of styles and eras. Audience suggestions are taken into consideration. Thus, we scheduled the much-requested Airplane! and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
4. What is your next film, and why did you think it was a worthy addition to your series?
MC: Monty Python and the Holy Grail screens Oct. 19. To me, it always was the funniest of the Python films, and the screening offers a variety of experiences for audience members. For Python nuts like me, it’ll be akin to watching your favorite band perform its greatest hits; the laughs come as much in anticipation of the jokes as with the jokes themselves. For others, who may or may not have seen it previously, this will be a rare opportunity to experience Monty Python on the big screen in a room that should be very responsive. Plus, they won’t have to squint to read those silly subtitles over the opening credits.
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STILL FUNNY: ‘DUCK SOUP,’ DIRECTED BY LEO McCAREY, 1933
5. Sometimes I have difficulty getting my students to watch classic and older films on the big screen when they can stream them at home. In your experience with this series, how important is seeing comedy on a big screen in a theater with an audience?
MC: I think the big-screen, vintage-theater setting has made an enormous difference. Duck Soup received a tremendous response, and many people said afterward they didn’t realize how funny it was till the experienced it on the big screen with so many people laughing.
6. So far, which film has gotten the best response, and why do you think it went over well? Did you expect the film to be a hit all over again, or were you surprised at the response?
MC: Duck Soup did great, and that’s the oldest film we’ve screened. I was especially gratified that our most recent screening may have been the best: Harold and Maude. We sandwiched Hal Ashby’s 1971 idiosyncratic black comedy between two more obvious selections—Airplane! and Holy Grail!—and it’s a movie that requires much more emotional involvement and appreciation of sharp tonal changes than the gag-driven others. Yet it had the biggest turnout, and people, myself included, responded very strongly to it.
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NOT SO FUNNY: ‘THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY,’ BY THE FARRELLY BROS., 1998
7. On the other side of the fence, which film was not “still funny,” and why do you think audiences found it lacking? Again, did this surprise you, or did you think it might not be as well received?
MC: There’s Something About Mary had the lowest turnout and scores, and that’s the most recent film we’ve screened—though it’s already 18 years old. Maybe Mary has been too much of a cable staple for such a screening to seem special, or maybe it hasn’t had time to attain “classic” status, or maybe it’s been surpassed so much in its raunchiness that it feels oddly dated. I still thought it was funny, but I remembered how much it meandered in the first place. I was surprised that, say, thirty-somethings weren’t so interested in revisiting a ‘90s movie. Everyone seems to appreciate ‘70s movies more.
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STILL FUNNY: ‘HAROLD AND MAUDE,’ DIRECTED BY HAL ASHBY, 1971
8. What is the reaction of audiences when comedies from past eras include scenes or sequences that are insensitive or offensive? Do they ignore them, or do you think it inspires dialogue about those scenes?
MC: We’ve had these discussions after most of the films about such scenes as the drunk-girl scene in Animal House that flirts with date rape as well as the “Mind if we dance with yo’ dates?” trip to the black road house; the busty secretary and mincing dancers of Blazing Saddles; the teaching-Africans-basketball Peace Corps scene of Airplane!; the treatment of handicapped people and dogs in Mary (though that conversation felt the same as when the movie came out). There was a collective cringe factor with each of those scenes and discussion of how the culture has changed. On the flip side, the racial material of Blazing Saddles felt more potent: You could imagine Cleavon Little standing in for Barack Obama as the new black sheriff encountering irrational white hostility.
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THE MUSIC BOX HOSTS ‘IS IT STILL FUNNY?’
9. I am sure TCM readers and viewers across the country would love to see a similar series in their hometowns. Would you consider franchising “Is It Still Funny?” a la Harlan Jacobson’s “Talk Cinema?”
MC: I’d love to do this, and I’m open to suggestions.
10. What have you gotten out of doing this series that you did not expect? What has the experience been like for you?
I’m happy that showing these films in this setting with these audiences has been as transformative as I’d hoped. Harold and Maude had been my favorite movie through college, and I’d been afraid to rewatch it for fear that it wouldn’t live up to my memory. Seeing it projected in 35mm at a packed Music Box, I had a truly great experience and loved it just as much as ever, which I didn’t expect. From the comments I’ve received, I’m not the only one who feels that way.