Things Ain't Like They Used To Be

Why can't things be like in the old days...?

As I watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail the other night, I realized that they just don't make comedies like they used to. Even the old Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons have been sanitized on TV. I was listening to the dialogue from a Daffy Duck cartoon while driving - the kids were watching it on the van's DVD - and it struck me that these days comedy has been dumbed down... a lot.

I grew up watching Benny Hill, The Three Stooges, The Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, and Monty Python. These comic geniuses taught me timing, slapstick, spit-takes, and comedy, in general. But what I really learned was the value of good word play. I learned that the nuances of the English language could be used to make people smile.

How are kids these days going to learn that? Comedies today are about farts and dumb jokes. If only comedies these days could be written with adults in mind (comedies that kids then could grow in to). The best comedy is one where the viewer learns more with each viewing. Jokes that went over my head as kid, now make me laugh out loud (literally).

This is why I vow to instruct my kids in the ways of the comedy giants that preceded us. It's not only my duty to comedy, but a decision to continue a way of life. In the end, comedy is where you find it... but you do need to know where to look.