Physical comedy or slapstick seems to have mostly fallen out of favor in story-driven media outside of kids' movies. Which makes sense, given that it's kind of the most simplistic juvenile humor. The first laughs babies have are usually from adults making silly faces or slapping themselves. But it was also kind of the driving force of early cinematic comedy--at first as a necessity, with films being silent, but it carried over for long after the introduction of sound.
Now though, slapstick isn't as commonplace outside of cartoons and critically panned family films. Every now and then you'll see a small bit worked into something like a Coen Brothers movie, but slapstick-driven films for mature audiences seems to be more or less done with clever dialogue and situational comedy being the main source of laughs. This gets me wondering if there are that many physical comedy bits from the last 20 years or so that are genuinely funny.
The first one that comes to mind right now is the ice rink campaign speech from Parks and Recreation:
That's pretty much the only American one I can think of right now. It seems like slapstick still plays in other countries. Stephen Chow's movies come to mind especially.
Now though, slapstick isn't as commonplace outside of cartoons and critically panned family films. Every now and then you'll see a small bit worked into something like a Coen Brothers movie, but slapstick-driven films for mature audiences seems to be more or less done with clever dialogue and situational comedy being the main source of laughs. This gets me wondering if there are that many physical comedy bits from the last 20 years or so that are genuinely funny.
The first one that comes to mind right now is the ice rink campaign speech from Parks and Recreation:
That's pretty much the only American one I can think of right now. It seems like slapstick still plays in other countries. Stephen Chow's movies come to mind especially.
