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 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 3:23 PM   
 By:   Regie   (Member)

I saw this film years ago and was reminded of it recently. You can see from the trailer that the central character (Sean Connery) uses his fists against women (Joanne Woodward, in this case). The film, "A Fine Madness", is meant to be a comedy but somehow I don't find the subject-matter so funny these days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWOMyvqu2Q

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 4:24 PM   
 By:   Smitty   (Member)

I can imagine Connery getting some laughs out of it.

 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 4:30 PM   
 By:   Octoberman   (Member)

Smitty, that interview clip is EXACTLY what I first thought of!

The 2nd thing I thought of were all those Andy Capp comics. God knows how they would be perceived nowadays.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 5:27 PM   
 By:   Regie   (Member)

Connery is a cave man!! And look at the way this famous film from 1938 was marketed!!!

"Jezebel" - it's all her fault:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/72819/Jezebel-Re-issue-Trailer-.html

 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 5:34 PM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

I think the larger question would be is there anything taboo for comedy? Comedy is by definition farcical, not to be taken seriously. So it boils down to taste and ones sensitivities. There are certainly things I don't find funny, but where do you draw the line?

 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 5:35 PM   
 By:   mastadge   (Member)

Anything can be funny. But there are some things that shouldn't be made light of, or at least not for general entertainment purposes.

And my esteem for Sean Connery just shrank three sizes.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 5:40 PM   
 By:   Regie   (Member)

I think the larger question would be is there anything taboo for comedy? Comedy is by definition farcical, not to be taken seriously. So it boils down to taste and ones sensitivities. There are certainly things I don't find funny, but where do you draw the line?

I draw the line at domestic violence, pedophiles, incest and terrorism.

 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 5:58 PM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

I think the larger question would be is there anything taboo for comedy? Comedy is by definition farcical, not to be taken seriously. So it boils down to taste and ones sensitivities. There are certainly things I don't find funny, but where do you draw the line?

I draw the line at domestic violence, pedophiles, incest and terrorism.


Did you think Airplane was funny? It's a much beloved comedy.

 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 7:29 PM   
 By:   edwzoomom   (Member)

Connery is a cave man!! And look at the way this famous film from 1938 was marketed!!!

"Jezebel" - it's all her fault:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/72819/Jezebel-Re-issue-Trailer-.html


Wow, I knew there was something about Connery that I never liked. Now I know what it is.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 7, 2013 - 10:29 PM   
 By:   dan the man   (Member)

No it really isn't. Another movie of that time I felt was dubious as well NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY-68- ROD STEIGER.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 5:35 AM   
 By:   Membership Expired   (Member)


I draw the line at domestic violence, pedophiles, incest and terrorism.


One man's terrorism is another man's freedom fighter.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 7:49 AM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

I wonder how ppl feel about women hitting men in films? I see it all the time for laughs. From Disney shows where girls hit boys, to television sitcoms where the wife physically abuses the husband.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 8:24 AM   
 By:   RoryR   (Member)

It's about as funny as our culture's sick addiction to gun violence as entertainment, and simulated war as a "fun" recreational game.

Just ask the kids at Newtown.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 8:27 AM   
 By:   joan hue   (Member)

Solium raises a good point. Any kind of domestic abuse, whether the victim is male or female, isn't funny. And to Regie's "not funny list," I'll add rape, murder, child and animal abuse.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 8:28 AM   
 By:   mastadge   (Member)

I wonder how ppl feel about women hitting men in films? I see it all the time for laughs. From Disney shows where girls hit boys, to television sitcoms where the wife physically abuses the husband.

I don't watch Disney shows or sitcoms, but I see well over a hundred movies a year and I'm straining to remember the last time I saw one in which anyone hit his or her spouse for laughs.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 8:39 AM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

I wonder how ppl feel about women hitting men in films? I see it all the time for laughs. From Disney shows where girls hit boys, to television sitcoms where the wife physically abuses the husband.

I don't watch Disney shows or sitcoms, but I see well over a hundred movies a year and I'm straining to remember the last time I saw one in which anyone hit his or her spouse for laughs.


I've seen it a lot, and it suggests it's ok for girls and women to hit boys and men. Heck, I just saw The Book Thief and the girl beats the town bully to a bloody pulp for verbally harassing her.

Edit: Some examples in comedies. Carrie was always punching and pinching Doug in King Of Queens. In Seinfeld Elaine violently ripped off Georges hair piece and tossed it out the window for laughs.

 
 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 9:00 AM   
 By:   dan the man   (Member)

There is and always will be a big problem with an issue like this because when[our friend Regie] started to list where she draws the line I was in a nice matter going to add to that list tenfold, Crime, organize crime, rape, child abuse, pickpockets, home invasion, id theft, where does it end. Is anything evil really funny?I don't think so.. So then with that logic what do filmmakers do.Many of us know in some ways comedy does get away with murder shielding itself with the logic it is comedy, it's silly, don't take it serious, no harm. I am 50/50 with that logic.But at the same time it reminds me of the time when I wrote a screenplay called UTOPIA- a film about a society where all is perfect in a moral sense. It was one of the hardest screenplays to write and when I spoke to my line producer about it , he said we have a problem here. The very basic aspect of drama is conflict. If everything is perfect in a society, well how is this film going to come about? Always thought that was a great comment.This is another discussion in life a finite answer is nearly impossible.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 9:21 AM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

You know I was just watching some old Get Smart episodes and Maxwell more than once shot agents dead. (for laughs) In one episode, the agent just wouldn't die. Max would shoot him, he would go down, get back up again, Max would shoot him again, and this went on like five times until he finally stayed dead!

I'm not a fan of modern comedy that is often mean spirited and at the expense of the venerable. Or it's just flat out gross. But I can only draw the line for myself.

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 9:23 AM   
 By:   Mr Greg   (Member)

I'm going to suggest that a lot of the answer depends on the individual's interpretation of the word "Funny"...for example, Chris Morris's Four Lions is a sidesplitting - in a satirical sense - film about terrorism...but the ultimate reason as to why? I think that's thesis-level stuff...

 
 Posted:   Dec 8, 2013 - 10:29 AM   
 By:   Octoberman   (Member)

(To try and get back on topic...)

I think when it's understood to be played for laughs, domestic violence can be funny. "Wile E. Coyote"-type stuff. Then when it's portrayed in a deliberately serious and unfunny manner, then obviously there wouldn't be anyone laughing because there is no humor meant in the pretense.

It seems to be more a question of "why do people deliberately push each other's buttons in provocative ways?". I think I can understand what Connery is talking about, even if I don't agree with him. When someone just doesn't know when to let up on another, what can the other do? Particularly if words don't work? My proposed solution is to walk out of the room (but that doesn't mean one won't be followed!).

So maybe "cowboy diplomacy" (to steal a phrase from Trek) is justified under certain circumstances. Then again, should a woman be with a man in the first place if she thinks he may react physically (and vice versa)?

 
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