The End of Funny Movies

What is comedy in a world with no sense of humor?

Mitt Romney once defended himself to a reporter who called him “stiff” during his first presidential campaign by saying, “I love humor. I live for laughter!”

Don’t we all, Mitt.

I spent years dreaming about writing for David Letterman as a kid. I think Trading Places should be in the Smithsonian, along with Tootsie and The Big Lebowski. I thought I had a decent sense of what was funny and what was not. But after subjecting myself to Anora before the Oscars to see what all the fuss was about, I am wondering if the word “comedy” needs to be redefined.

After watching the movie, I read some of its reviews. I was baffled to discover that every reviewer describes it as a “hilarious slapstick comedy.” Huh? It was supposed to be funny? It has no jokes!