6 THE LION:
Telegraphing a joke to its detriment. In Naked Gun 2 1/2, a lion attacking Robert Goulet didn't get a laugh until the setup was eliminated.

7 HAIR UNDER THE WINGS:
A joke that compromises the integrity of the plot. A proposed Airplane! gag involved a shot of a plane taking off with hair under its wings. Funny, but not good for the story's believability.

8 DYNAMITE PLUNGER:
At the movie's end, you can get away with things you couldn't earlier, going broader with characters previously grounded a lot more in reality.

9 TRANSPLANT AND WHACK:
When a sequence isn't clicking, the joke is the organ to save. Transplant it to a scene that can live and whack the rest.

10 ANGRY VILLAGERS:
The reaction at a first preview when a succession of jokes doesn't work and the audience turns against the movie, conjuring up the Frankensteinimage of a mob carrying torches and pitchforks.

11 CHEESE FACTOR:
W.C. Fields once said, ''If you're going to smash a car, make sure it's a beat-up car.'' So, in Scary Movie 3, the best aliens were the cheap-looking ones.

12 CUMULATIVE EFFECT:
Too much of one thing is never good. One sex joke may be funny, but too many and it's diminishing returns.

13 WHO FARTED?:
To be yelled out by the director during a scene when he needs an actor to look confused or perplexed.

14 MANIC DUMB SHOW:
Slapstick for the sake of slapstick, but without character or plot motivation or wit.

15 SCHMUCK BAIT:
A twist ending that makes the audience feel cheated, such as the old ''It was all a dream.''

Originally posted Apr 14, 2006 Published in issue #873 Apr 21, 2006 Order article reprints
Page 1 2 3 4 5
You Might Also Like

Add your comment

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.

500 characters remaining