Comedy is a Funny Thing

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 31, 2004 5:46PM

If Playtime at the Music Box didn't satisfy your need for graceful physical comedy – which is pretty much impossible, but still – you can check out a program of Buster Keaton films this Friday. The screening will kick off the Gene Siskel Film Center's eclectic American Film Comedy Series, with classics by Chaplin, Lubitsch, Sturges, Capra, Minnelli, Hitchcock, Wilder, Edwards, and Woody Allen. (Some of the choices are a bit odd, though. Crimes and Misdemeanors as the Allen selection? Kiss Me Stupid for Billy Wilder? Riiight...) Gerald R. Butters, Jr., a professor at Aurora University, will be on hand to discuss all the films. In the program's notes, he writes,

One of the earliest narrative forms in American motion pictures, comedy continues to be among the most popular. From slapstick to parody, camp to satire, and gross-out to screwball, "comedy" is a broad concept that centers on one notion: the ability to make us laugh. This series will cover the various forms of film comedy and will examine the popularity of those forms in distinct periods of American history.

Christ, that sounds like a film class to Chicagoist. But with so many great movies, you really can't go wrong. (And Butters's lectures are, of course, optional.) The Keaton program features the hilarious pair of films Cops and College, underrated classics from the screen's best physical comedian and director of comedy. The movies will replay next Tuesday, September 7, with live piano accompaniment, which is really the only way to see (and hear) a silent film. So go to The Brown Bunny on Friday and maybe save the Keaton films for next week.