Film Courage: Would you say protagonists and comedies are kind of pathetic?
Steve Kaplan, Author/Instructor/Script Consultant: Not necessarily Harold Ramis had this idea that
when he started writing directing all the all the comic protagonists were kind of nebbishing and
pathetic like in a Woody Allen film but his take was what he was interested in were the rebels,
the iconoclasts, the people who don't fit in and that's why Meatballs, Ghostbusters,
Groundhog Day, Stripes he has these characters that are they're still not perfect they're still
not Heroes because they lack decorum, they lack kind of maturity but they they're rebels that's
because that's how he saw himself and so your comic protagonist doesn't need to fit the cookie
cutter form of some other character that you're not interested in right about the characters
that you're interested in only remember they're human meaning they're fallible meaning you can't
accrue to them all the wonderful qualities you wish you had you have to give them the
qualities that they have and and and you have to lead them on a journey somewhere
so when you say iconoclasts so they're they're kind of misfits they don't yeah misfits rebels
that's who you to write about so I think it's a mistake to think that every every protagonist has
to be a nebish or or a dweeb they can be kind of a a jerk or or somebody who's self-serving
or just doesn't fit into the group for whatever it does or doesn't fit into the
group for some reason our characters and comedies different than other genres they're funnier no
again a character in comedy is the term that we use in the hidden tools of comedy is non-hero a
non-hero is somebody who lacks some if not all the essential skills and tools with which to win
so that describes all of us we all lack some if not all the essential skills and
tools with which to win were not omnipotent we're not immortal we're not omniscient
some of us have bad you know bad Court eye hand eye coordination so so we
we are flawed and so in in a comic protagonist your protagonist is flawed only to the extent that
they need to be flooded in other words you don't need to make him the stupidest person in the world
because listen as we to say you're not as smart as you'd to think you are you're you're you're you're
just you're just human so so you don't need to by by making somebody a clown that's that's another
mask you see you put a mask on a character and on a heroic character and you give them
the attributes brave resourceful this and that by making somebody an idiot the stupidest person in
the world you're still putting a mask on them and you're and but now you're condescending to them
and you're saying what you're basically saying is that that person what a jerk what an idiot
not me thoughI'm the smart writer I'm so is much smarter than the characters I'm writing
and I would I would suggest well have a little sympathy because that character even if it's
an anthropomorphic chicken that character's a human being and so are you so you're all
going to end up in the same place so maybe you shouldn't spend your time condescending maybe
you should spend your time connecting and and observing not not letting somebody off easy not
whitewashing something but the genius of comedy is that it loves humanity without forgiving them
and in Revenge of the Nerds it was it was set up that we all sort of looked down on these various
characters until they had their comeuppance except that in Revenge of the Nerds even though we kind
of knew that they were they were losers on the other hand so are we I mean how many
of us empathize and related to the good-looking blonde-haired blue-eyed perfect teeth frat boys
no we in our heads we're all losers in our heads we're all misfits in our heads we're all
less than and the genius of comedy is that it knows that and it says it's okay
your secret's safe with me I'll be the jerk I'll be the loser for all of you
because the reality is is that that's what frightens us more than more than more than death
it's the most frightening thing to people public speaking because in public speaking you're exposed
am I smart enough do I look good enough and that's what we all fear that we're going to be exposed
and a comedian is the person who simply has the courage to get up in front of a
large group of strangers and admits to being human whereas many of us
you know we don't admit it we're perfect well at least we want you to think that we're perfect
how many of us go to our boss and say boy am I a screw-up today I
got this all wrong no if we screw up we try desperately to hide it.