The “comedy” genre in film is often something which is dismissed as shallow entertainment. Entertainment nonetheless, yet something that cannot have an abstract meaning, or touch on themes to a necessary extent to have it considered anything above a “popcorn movie”.

Yet this is clearly something which is not true, when looking at classic and contemporary comedies in film, there is often something underneath the supposedly shallow exterior which touches on significant aspects of the human condition and society.
Let’s consider a film such as The Hangover, for example. On the outside it would appear to be nothing but three less than intelligent men finding themselves in contrived antics for the audiences enjoyment. Of course it’s fine to see it this way, but it can also be seen a little differently. Take the notion of a “hangover” after a night of heavy drinking, not only does it create a mood of depression, it also provokes honesty and reflection, not only of the night before, but of our lives as a whole.

It is common for me to look back on my night when I wake up sick in the morning, and use what ever embarrassing thing we I have got up to as a reflection of my much wider flaws as a human being. This is also seen in the film, where the character of Stewart (played by Ed Helms), can see the fact that he cheated on his partner as a reflection of how unhappy he is in a relationship. Yet on an even darker note, the character of Phil (Bradley Cooper), speaks brutally honestly in his nauseous stupor, ‘I fucking hate my life’, a life with a wife and child. When these two characters are shown next to Allan (Zach Galifinakis), they now appear similar to him in their imperfection, when initially Allan appeared to be the one who didn’t have it “all worked out” as we assumed the other too did. Perhaps when we see how flawed Stu and Phil in the conclusion of the film, we actually realize that Allan could have his life more in order then both of them.

Whilst a great comedy is a gem that is forever entertaining, it should not be dismissed as simple entertainment, when often their is the possibility of a whole range of abstract meanings to what the audience is being shown.