Secondary research continued: Comedy
I looked at four pieces of media with a serious approach to police interrogation, and now I will discuss two films chosen for their humorous approach to this subject. I have chosen to use Todd Philips The Hangover, and Kevin Smith’s Cop Out for this purpose.
The Hangover
The interrogation clip available on you tube covers two parts of a scene at the police station, but I was just looking at the first half, when the subjects are being interrogated by two very unconventional police officers.
· This scene is set in a police interrogation room. Even though the film is a comedy, the scenery is very similar to the scenery in Law and Order and The Bill. There has to be some aspects of police scenery and props to set the scene properly, even in a comedy. If for example it had been set in a field, the scene would not convey any seriousness at all. While watching, we can tell the scene is going to be funny, but we also have that serious feeling of it taking place in a real police station. That somehow makes it even funnier.
· The first thing that came to mind when I watched this scene (and this was also true of the scene from Cop Out), was how un-serious the police officers are. In this movie they are meant to deliver some seriously funny lines during the film, and hopefully to make the audience laugh out loud. They are also meant to fit in with the other characters, who aren’t really very believable. Although they are funny my police characters are going to be more strict than these--similar to the ones on the television shows I looked at. The main reason I made this decision is because of the twist at the end. It would not be as effective if the police officers were looked upon as being silly.
· The next scene has to do with a ‘deal’ the guys make with the police officers, so that they do not have to go to jail. This obviously wouldn’t happen in a real interrogation, you would have no choice but to do as you’re told. So overall this whole scene is fantasy-like. This type of thing shares similarities with Cop Out.
Cop Out
Cop Out is similar to The Hangover in the sense that it’s comedic and does not follow the conventions of a real interrogation. But all can still be explained. Overall, the interrogation scene involves Tracey Morgan’s character acting out different scenes from action/cop movies with a man he is meant to be interrogating, and actually there is absolutely no interrogation in it. I really wanted to look at the scene for the comedy in it. It makes me laugh, so they must be doing something right, and I wanted to try and make my screenplay as funny as possible.
· The scene is set in a realistic interrogation room. However in this picture we can still see some elements that make the whole scene seem unrealistic, for example the cops are not in a police uniform or in formal wear, which stereotypes them immediately as being quite unprofessional. In my screenplay my characters will be more professional.
· Throughout this scene Tracey Morgan’s character (in a comedic manner) gets the man he is questioning in headlocks, and pins him up against walls. It’s done in a funny manner which is very unprofessional. In conclusion this is the whole point of this type of comedy. When it comes to serious subject matters, directors have to find elements to make them funny, in this instance it was the unprofessional behaviour. This makes it easier for the audience to relate to the characters.
In my screenplay, the twist will be used in this way, to help the audience become more interested in the characters. At first they seem like serious interrogators, but in the end, when they misinterpret the situation, the audience will hopefully be able to see the humour in this, and identify with them as just normal who make mistakes like everyone else.
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