comedy and the blind obsession

The comic character has a blind obsession. He is trying to win in spite of the fact he has not the skills, the personality, the moral character in which to succeed. (In a movie, eventually, the comic hero does learn something about himself but the funniest parts of the movie are always the first third when we watch him haplessly negotiate life.)

 Don’t forget archetypes and clichés are our comedic friends. They are shorthand for people we think we know. But throw in blind obsessions, terrible reasonings, absurd justifications, the soccer mom/the businessman/the valley girl/the kindly old lady are ripe for a twist. I wrote a monologue once about a manly man who walked into a crowded gay bar and thought it was a sports bar. His flaw was that he naively could not see the world for what it was. He wanted to experience masculine, athletic camaraderie and was so blind he misinterpreted everything – come-ons, glory holes, even the porn on a TV set he saw as men’s wrestling. He could not be saved from the way he needed to see the world in that moment.

John Cleese as Basil Fawlty is a perfect example. He’s a man who believes himself to be worldly and charming but in fact hates people. And he owns a bed and breakfast! His cast of helpless observers all try to be as helpful as possible – bossing him around, placating him, scrambling for him—but none of them can save him from his blind obsession to be right in every situation. And, of course, blame everyone else for the mishaps he himself causes. He is own worst enemy. All brought to life in this scene. Notice how Polly can't stop him. The Germans can't stop him. He takes it to the end of the line. Blind obsession equal comedy. 

If you haven’t watched and studied every episode of the British “The Office” with Ricky Gervais, shame on you. His character, David Brent, believes himself to be well-loved by his employees, a great musician, a comic genius, a business philosopher and he’s none of these. He’s a man in search of other people’s approval and love. He is the loneliest man in the world. In this scene, he's brought in an outside consultant for workshop on customer service. David can't help himself, he has to take over.