Black Comedians

Parvini · Post by **Parvini** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:33

Why do all black comedians from Richard Pryor to Eddie Murphy to Chris Rock have essentially the same character? Why is this said character then forced to forge an unlikely but persevering alliance with a white guy with hilarious yet heartwarming results in any film from "Hear, No Evil, See No Evil" to "48 Hours" to "Leathel Weapon", "Bad Company" and beyond?

Railwaymodeler · Post by **Railwaymodeler** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:20

I think, as far as the combo on film, it has been a setup that has worked, and Hollywood is reluctant to tamper with a working formula- remember all the money that goes into a movie- if they do something that the general public won't like or will view as 'new' or 'different', then that may hurt ticket sales.

Movies are like any other business- they're out to make money. But there have been some other buddy flicks that have worked, such as the Rush Hour series, with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Granted Chris Tucker still played the comedian, but Jackie was Asian.

I think, looking deeper, a small part of it, or maybe a big part, I don't know for sure, is that a pairing of a laid back black fellow and a serious, up tight white fellow (As it is in the movies I have seen, such as Silver Streak, with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor), might just be a commentary of US society, where blacks are stereotyped as being too laid back and easy going, and often more so as lazy. And White people are stereotyped as being uptight and always serious.

I think in film, it helps ease tensions once a while, too. the US (Don't know about the rest of the world) is a very ethnically diverse place, but very intolerant of each other at times. So much hate in this country. I think a few good buddy films help to ease the tension a little.

moshboy · Post by **moshboy** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:46

Buddy films are a proven formula. Buddy films, in which two complete opposites mix is an even surer formula, providing the opposites actually make the film funny. I'm personally not a huge fan of buddy films because they tend to be a little too formulaic (sortof like pop music) but films like 48 hours do work though (from a likable characters perspective).

Parvini · Post by **Parvini** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 16:14

The unwritten Hollywood rule that all buddy movies must have at least one loud, extrovert black guy who is at once "down with the street" and morally pure has been in effect for a good 20 years or more. What are the differences between say Richard Pryor in Stir Crazy, Eddie Murphy in Beverley Hills Cop and Chris Rock in Dogma? There are none! Any humour essentially derives from seeing "a brother" in unlikely scenarios or speaking to unlikely people. I claim this is borne of American racial attitudes - by packaging these stereotypes as something to be loved and as in some way radical (i.e. representing black people in films) they also santitize them - Homer Simpson sitting in Arkansas is safe to think X, Y, Z about black people because every black guy he ever sees acts the same way and has done since 1979. It's the same thing with gay people and "camp" behaviour. (see:

in off-linegames forum)

And I for one - am agaisnt it!

moshboy · Post by **moshboy** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 17:41

On a barebones level you're right.. the difference between the characters is almost zilch. The difference is really in the intent of the writing. My opinion of Beverly Hills Cop is that it isn't anything special as an action movie and doesn't really stand out as a comedy either - the script just isn't that good.

Dogma on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. Hearing Chris Rock talk about God and claim that he owes him five bucks was pretty funny. Now that I think about it thought Dogma isn't really a buddy movie, so I don't really think it fits properly into the discussion. It might open discussion about black characters and their roles in comedies in general I suppose.