Why So Serious? Why the Oscars Should Have a Category for Comedies

It's never good to take things too seriously.

In fact, if someone doesn't have a sense of humor, I don’t know if I can trust them. I mean, who doesn't love to laugh? (Camera pans to Tommy Lee Jones.)


What I’m getting at is this: the Academy needs to lighten up and embrace comedy.

Comedies — even well-reviewed ones — never get to be the hero on Oscar night.

Let's recap the comedians that have managed to successfully court Oscar: Annie Hall is the first one that comes to mind. That's not exactly a recent example (it was released in 1977). There are a number of pseudo-comedies — films that could be called comedies even though they're really dramas or romance movies. Shakespeare in Love is one of those pseudo-comedies, but come on, it really isn't a comedy. I've even seen American Beauty listed as comedy. No, no, it's not. (I appreciate dark humor too, but American Beauty is a drama. Not much disputing that.) Even these pseudo-comedies don’t get a lot of respect though.

The best example, is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. A brilliant film and definitely one of Jim Carrey's best (along with Dumb and Dumber). But, again, I wouldn't solely categorize it as a comedy. I do think this one fell in the trap of being too weird for Oscar voters. As with the most films that are innovative, but not necessarily mainstream, this won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar but didn't get nominations for Best Picture or Best Director.

One film that I'd classify as a comedy (even though it's more than just that) that I would have liked to see get some love from the Academy? That would be The Big Lebowski. While it has an enormous cult following, the Coen brothers' masterpiece (well, one of their masterpieces) is definitely too odd to win the top prize. Plus, it was released in 1998, the same year as Saving Private Ryan. Could The Big Lebowski really get the nod over that Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks powerhouse? Probably not, but then again, Shakespeare in Love did win Best Picture that year.

The solution I’m pitching is a Best Comedy award. A best Animated Feature was added in 2001, so why not create one that would allow the year's best comedies to duke it out?

Let's look at last year's awards (films released in 2011): Bridesmaids almost certainly would have taken home the Best Comedy Oscar. I'd be fine with that, though my vote would have been for Horrible Bosses. While Bridesmaids probably has too many diarrhea jokes to be mentioned as a Best Picture, it totally makes sense as Best Comedy (and whatever, fart jokes are funny).

Honestly, I think I'd be more intrigued by this category than many others. I'd also be equally outraged by snubs. If Anchorman didn’t win in 2004 — say, Dodgeball or Napoleon Dynamite beat it out — I'd be furious. Anchorman is in the upper echelon of comedy, and why not give it a gold statue that agrees with that sentiment?

The Golden Globes kind of has the right idea with its Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy award. I'd obviously get rid of the musical part. Comedies and musicals aren't really that similar, it doesn't make too much sense to pit them against each other. Also, this is where including those pseudo-comedies can complicate the situation.

For example, if Moonrise Kingdom was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Comedy (it did receive a Golden Globe nomination for a comedy or musical), how do you rate that against Ted and 21 Jump Street?

The latter two films are funnier, but I think Moonrise Kingdom* is the better film. The solution to this is simple — the criteria for Best Comedy should be judged on laughs. There are other categories to award story, acting, etc. This is for making us laugh. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a hilarious movie with a mind-blowing story, and if that happens, it can win Best Comedy and Best Picture (yeah, right). I'm getting a head start on things too and jumping on the Anchorman sequel bandwagon early for the Best Comedy Oscar! Join the fun, Oscar voters, create an Oscar for the jokers out there. This award is kind of a big deal.

*Of course, Moonrise Kingdom did get nominated for Best Picture. Wait, it didn’t? And there was another slot open? What’s going on here?