MovieChat Forums > Whisky (2004) Discussion > Comedy? I think not.

Comedy? I think not.



Main Entry: com·e·dy
Pronunciation: 'kä-m;-dE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -dies

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French comedie, from Latin comoedia, from Greek kOmOidia, from kOmos revel + aeidein to sing -- more at ODE
1 a : a medieval narrative that ends happily ;Dante's Divine Comedy; b : a literary work written in a comic style or treating a comic theme
2 a : a drama of light and amusing character and typically with a happy ending b : the genre of dramatic literature dealing with the comic or with the serious in a light or satirical manner -- compare TRAGEDY
3 : a ludicrous or farcical event or series of events
4 a : the comic element ;the comedy of many life situations; b : humorous entertainment ;nightclub comedy

http://webster.com/dictionary/comedy


Do tell, how does this film match the definition of "Comedy"?

Prog.

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it's not a comedy! More like Drama... although there are smatterings of comedy, like the sock stuff and all, it keeps itself low-profile. More like a subtle, art-film drama where nothing happens throughout, a cycle of life moreso.

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uh...grow a sense of humor and maybe you'll get why it's funny. It fulfills the latter two definitions easily. And that first definition is incomplete as Dantean comedy encompasses Paradisal, Purgatorial and Infernal comic terrain. Whiskey falls somewhere between Purgatorial and Infernal comedy.

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Yes. I think the advertisment of this movie as a "comedy" is misleading, and can lead you to have a hard time adapting to what the movie really is while you're watching it, as happened to me. It's better to recommend it as a drama, and let people decide if they find it "funny" in the end.

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There so much scope in the genre of comedy. Just because a film is catagorised like this doesn't mean it has been strictly defined and you know what to expect. I thought this was a very funny film because of the eccentric traits of the characters the weird physical contradictions in the 3 main characters! One shot in particular in the hotel when Jacobo and Marta are in the elevator and only parts of their faces can be seen through the window was hilarious but you have to dig deep to find this kind of subtle humour.

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It may be called black humor. the humor is about the social and economic situation of Uruguay and the main characters (Martha and Senor Koller). The most funny joke is about Martha's name whether It is spelled with H or not. However it may make no sense for whom does not know spanish :))Anyway the story makes me laugh.

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The most funny joke is about Martha's name whether It is spelled with H or not. However it may make no sense for whom does not know spanish :))
Can you explain the joke?

Her name was Marta on the subs on the version I saw, if that makes any difference.


Anyway the story makes me laugh.
I didnt find anything funny about the main characters. The sad and empty (presumably off-season) resort was amusing, and so were the honeymooners. But that was about it.

Jacobo had zero personality, and Marta kept hers hidden. Without personality, this type of downbeat film can never be funny.

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-Can you explain the joke?

In Spanish there is no 'th'. But it's Uruguay and there might be some english influence/names.

Overall a depressing movie. All characters almost lifeless.
I thought of a marriage at the end. Then it would have been a comedy plot.

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I thought it was pretty funny when he got Marta to push-start the car outside the factory and how the only time he really smiled apart from saying "whisky" was bad attempts of being polite,he didn't even smile when he won the money.

So I'd say it's not laugh-a-minute comedy but it's fair to say it meets points 3 and 4 of the definition you gave.

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It really doesnt fit the comedy profile. I do respect your comment even though I consider it is a huge insensitive feeling saying that the misery and the human condition itself are not hilarious
Next time you see the movie, try to look at it as an latin american would mate

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[deleted]

[deleted]

It's a perfect example of what's known as deadpan comedy.

So many movies, so little time...

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Finally, someone gets it without all that unbearable pretentiousness of dissecting the definition of comedy!
I thought it was hysterical. Someone on the topic called the characters "lifeless." A different kind of life or living or existing does not mean "lifeless." To me their blandness was 3/4 of the comedy, as it were. (Though I thought she was so cute!)
I suspect a lot of these commentators dove for their Benny Hill DVDs after watching this movie to counteract.

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