Craig Priddle
There is some interesting research available on www.psychologytoday.com on comedians conducted by Gil Greengross Ph.D. I’ve been looking at it because I’ve been trying to figure out why so often the best films comedians make are the ones that aren’t very funny.
As examples of what I’m talking about, consider the following:
1. Jim Carrey in The Truman Show and The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind.
2. Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction.
3. Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me and Punch Drunk Love.
4. Bill Murray in Broken Flowers and Lost In Translation.
5. Whoopi Goldberg in The Colour Purple
There are others such as Albert Brooks in Drive, Bette Midler in The Rose, Steve Martin in
The Spanish Prisoner (a bit hard to beat Steve Martin’s comedies, but it is certainly an excellent performance). I’d be interested in hearing others you may think of. It’s an interesting exercise to go through.
I admit I have yet to find any good film for Rob Schneider (serious or comedy).
The films I’ve mentioned are very different from each other, sharing perhaps only one characteristic, they aren’t comedies. I recommend them all. The films I’ve listed for Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler are particularly strong because the comedy roles those performers are known for are often very broad, almost diametrically opposed.
Perhaps it is because these performers are known for their broad roles, when they are asked to show themselves in a more complicated, and deeper character, the transformation seems so much more remarkable. Perhaps there is more to it than simply opposites attracting.
While the psychology articles dealt with stand up comedy specifically, I believe the same findings would be quite relevant to the comedic actor. Many of them are also writers (Sandler, Ferrell, Martin) and as Greengross says, the line between creator and performer is blurry.
One of the first things I read from Greengross was that he found that comedians are by and large introverted. Given this involvement with one’s mental life is what we enjoy watching in the films above, I thought I was onto something. Interestingly, actors tend to be extraverted. Carrey, Farrell, Sandler, Murray and Martin all had careers as stand up or improvisational comedians.
Greengross suggests that comedians have had melancholy lives in their childhood and youth. “Comedians’ childhood experiences were marked by isolation, suffering, and deprivation feelings”. The roles played by Adam Sandler in particular in Reign Over Me and Punch Drunk Love deal with these themes. Sandler won and was nominated for prestigious awards, including the Golden Globe, for his performance in Punch Drunk Love.
Greengross references a study conducted by Samuel Janus about professional comedians’ decades ago. Using standardised tests, professional comedians were found to have an IQ well above average. Greengross conducted simpler but related tests which appear to support the earlier findings by Janus. Interesting when one considers the complexity and depth of the roles above.
Once you start digging around the filmography of comedians and comic actors, it is remarkable what gems are uncovered. The psychology of the performers mentioned is an interesting point to consider in conjunction with what often appear to be anomalies in their career. I found it fascinating that these great roles were when we saw these comedians more closely, perhaps, being themselves; introverted, melancholic and intelligent.
The psychology is interesting; these performances are all worth a look. Highly recommended.
Psychology Today, The Fascinating Life of Comedians – starting point for a number of articles covering many aspects of comedians, including personality, intelligence and reasons for choosing that career
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/humor-sapiens/201306/the-fascinating-life-comedians
The Great Comedians: Personality and other factors – Samuel S. Janus
The Great Comediennes: Personality and other factors – Samuel S. Janus Ph.D., Barbara E. Bess M.D., Beth R. Janus B.A.
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