Funny ha ha?
David Zucker, co-creator of Airplane! and auteur behind Scary Movie 4, provided Entertainment Weekly with a glossary and rules that he and his comedic colleagues have developed over the years. Many are specific to moviemaking, but some apply to writing comic prose, and in some cases to all kinds of storytelling.
Namely...
3. Bric-A-Brac: Jokes not intrinsic to a plot or scene that only serve to detract from the point the scene is trying to make.
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5. Hair Under the Wings: A joke that compromises the integrity of the plot. A joke proposed for Airplane! involved a shot of Ted Striker's plane taking off with hair under its wings. Funny, but not good for the audience's investment in the reality of the story.
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11. Transplant and Whack: The joke is the organ we save. Transplant it to a scene that can live and whack the rest.
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17. Turn the Play Inside: Use existing characters in all possible instances instead of creating new parts and endless residuals.
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19. W.P.A.: Scenes so extraneous to plot that they merely serve to fill up pages. Like those old FDR New Deal programs, they're strictly ''make-work.''
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22. Schmuck Bait: A twist ending that makes the audience feel cheated, such as the old ''It was all a dream.''
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34. Cutting Out the Cancer: Eliminating dud jokes or superfluous story. The most pressing task after a first preview with Angry Villagers.
35. Flywheel Theory: Keeping the audience laughing is a lot easier than starting them back up from scratch.
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46. Dancing Around the Calf: Rejoicing over some idea or concept that seems great at the time. Dancing typically continues until a wiser voice arrives to point out how stupid the idea or concept actually is.
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4. BREAKING THE FRAME: Don't remind the audience that they're watching a movie. This is the rule most often legally bypassed, but a movie has to be a strong one to withstand more than one or two of these.
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7. AXE GRINDING: When the joke is overshadowed by some message, it gets unfunny fast.
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9. STRAW DUMMY: Where the intended target is set up by the writer instead of real life. Even if the joke hits the target, who cares?
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15. THERE ARE NO RULES
"Venice Canal," watercolor