Customer Reviews

Laughing Out Loud: Writing the Comedy-Centered Screenplay

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book provides some marvelous exercises for learning to think comically, which Horton claims is essential to writing good comedy. He also provides a rich history of comic traditions in many genres, which adds to the book's usefulness. He does, however, manage to skim both subjects too lightly in his attempt to put both in the same book. Thus, those who are looking for a how-to book will be dissatisfied, and those who are looking for an academic book will be dissatisfied. His treatment of comedy as a genre is too light to be considered anything other than watered down for screenwriters who are supposed to care. Did *I* enjoy the book? In most instances, yes. However, I found it too selective of what Horton considered good examples of comedy.

The subtitle of this book is "Writing the Comedy-Centered Screenplay". It should be "A History of Comedy".

I found this book very dry and difficult to get through. Most of the useful information is found in the first chapter of two. What follows is a detailed history of comedy starting with Aristophanes and such hilarious examples of anarchistic comedy as:

"Come at once to supper And bring your pitcher, and your supper chest, The priest of Bacchus sends to fetch you thither. And do be quick: you keep the supper waiting."

Pretty funny stuff, huh? As an earlier reviewer commented, leave this one for the academics.

I had high hopes for this book but was regretably disappointed. This is not a good guideline for writing a screenplay. Instead I found an acadamic study of the history of comedy that had me skimming soon and often.

Andrew Horton destroys the myths about sitcom and comedy writing with Laughing Out Loud. Those who believe that a writer doesn't need theory or a history of comedy lesson shouldn't write. Do us the favour and resist the temptation. Some sitcoms and comedies coming from the USA are witnesses to terrible writing. Laughing Out Load will help any comedy writer to at least get the comedy right. It helped me as a documentary filmmaker to look at serious subjects with a bit of humour. Even if you never write a comedy screenplay, Laughing Out Load will help you understand why you laugh at certain jokes and groan at others.

I was attracted to this book because I work as a writer and actor mostly with comedy. What a horrible book. Why don't I write down all my favorite movie moments (not just comedy), throw in a few populist tips and bind them together with a whole load of other peoples ideas and....voilá!! I have a book published! That, in my opinion, is what Andrew Horton has done. Terribly self-indulgent and doesn't set up any coherent criteria. Anyone who has done McKees course, read his book or stuff by Sid Field, Christopher Vogler, etc. will not be missing anything by not buying this book. He may offer some useful insights but they are lost in a chaos of useless references. The writer comes across as well meaning and passionate but I found his book frustrating and disappointing.

I used this book in film school, and have since lost it. I bought it again so that I could have it in my reference library. It's a great book for beginning comedy writers, and a terrific refresher tool for people who don't write comedy often. Keep in mind that it pretty much only applies to screenplays.

Laughing Out Loud was a wonderfull book that I found very helpfull. It is filled with great exersizes to get you in writting mood. This is a must have for all screenwriters.