Do you prefer police/espionage movies to be dramas/thrillers or comedies?

[Bratva Assassin]

I would personally go with comedies. My reason is because I prefer organized crime movies to be thrillers/dramas instead. What about you guys? Also, don’t forget to give me reasons!

[Death]

Comedies, I love to laugh, I feel better. It is a way to kind of relax.

[Algonquin Assassin]

Depends on my mood. I still like me some Police Academy or The Naked Gun, but it's hard to go past Training Day, The Departed, We Own The Night etc. In general I think they work best as dramas/thrillers given how much potential there is for a compelling narrative, but there are still good buddy cop comedies out there.

[Mister Pink]

10 hours ago, ThatKyloRenGuy said:

I prefer organized crime movies to be thrillers/dramas

I agree. Most organized crime films can fit into "drama."  Think The Godfather. It's mostly a drama about a crime family. Violence and action is secondary to the interpersonal relationships, dialogue and serious tone of the film. However, there's comedy to be found in drama TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire. And to me the humour is more natural, real and funny by virtue of it being in a more real or serious situation. 

 

I think before this topic continues you need to define what a drama is. Drama is a very broad term. It's almost like using "indie." Indie only describes that a film is independent of a huge movie studio. It doesn't say anything about the film. Most people don't think or realize that films like The Terminator, Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspects are indie films. Drama is so broad. 

 

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Drama Films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worst, and everything in-between. Each of the types of subject-matter themes have various kinds of dramatic plots. Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre because they include a broad spectrum of films. filmsite.org

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So based on this definition, which I believe is accurate, I'm a much bigger fan of drama as a broad description of films. Because often drama has humour in it. A good drama like The Sopranos has lots of humour in it because life is funny even in murky situations. The Wire, being a cop-drama (or drug-dealing drama - the cops and the drug gangs get equal screentime) has lots of humour. Shows like Boardwalk Empire are serious like The Sopranos or The Wire but there are laugh-out-loud moments. There are also comedy-drama films. That's when the drama, the seriousness is real but there's a concious attempt to make the viewer laugh throughout. A good comedy-drama can do this without compromising the serious nature of the film. 

 

To me, comedies are so hard to do and pull off well. Everyone loves comedy. Everyone loves to laugh. It's built into our biology. But comedy is so subjective. A comedy film is specificallly setting out to make you laugh. If a joke doesn't work and you don't laugh, that's a failure of the film.  Comedies are really specialized films like horrors. They're out to tickle one aspect of you - to make you laugh. Drama is broader. It can make you laugh, make you cry, encourage philosophical thought, it can thrill etc etc. 

 

Drama over comedy for me any day because if the comedy is so subjective that it it doesn't work, it fails. When comedy presents itself in drama, it's funnier to me because it's more natural. They aren't trying too hard to make me laugh all the time. 

 

The funny and tragic thing about Snoop buying a nail gun is that we know the nails are going into someone's head and to border up the abandoned project house they'll die in.. Being a psychopathic enforcer for a drugs gang can be hard work and you need the best tools of the trade. 

 

The comedy in this scene is great. I mean Paulie is driving around listening to The Art Of War when he see's these guys. And the petty theft of the wallet and lawnmower is intrinsic to Paulie's character and a testament to the rough and cash-strapped situation he's in. For me it's a perfect mix of drama, violence, back-talking and crime, as well as dark humour.. all in one short scene. 

 

 

TLDR: James Bond > Johhny English, The Wire > Brooklyn Nine Nine

Edited January 15, 2019 by Mister Pinkerton