In typical screwball fashion, What's Up Doc? is a riotous slapstick comedy that in ways resembles episodes of Coyote and Roadrunner. The characters are outrageously wacky, including an overly rigid yet goofy professor, a fun and zany yet accident-prone heroine, a codependent and paranoid fiancé, and many others. All live in a chaotic yet truly hazard-free world. Their lives are never once suspected of serious injury, let alone threatened with any type of real danger, but are simply part of a farcical tale whose purpose is to make the viewer laugh. In other words, this film does not try to purport itself as being anything more than what it is. Warning: All philosophers must step down from their sky-lit castles in order to enjoy this silly little adventure.
The film relies heavily upon chaos. That is, you can pretty much expect the fulfillment of Murphy's Law from moment to moment. Chaos is the medium by which the story thrives and pokes fun at a variety of human flaws, including: those who lie, cheat and steal in order to obtain certain objectives. Howard lies to ensure fidelity within his fiancé; Judy cheats by knowingly flirting with an engaged man; and the handbag robbers are those who obviously steal from one another. By exploiting each weakness through catastrophic events, the film's moral corrective is revealed: If you lie, cheat and steal, your life will be complicated. Viewers will laugh at the way human nature is depicted because each character is so vastly contrasted with the next. Take Howard and Judy for example; a pair that couldn't be more polarized. He's a substitute "rocks for brains" type geek; a competing musicologist that wants a scholarly grant, not to mention takes life too seriously. To the contrary, she's a madcap burst of excitement; a happy-go-lucky and socially attractive vixen that delights in the wild and adventurous chase of romance.
Together, then, the two create a sea of clashing character objectives that humorously induce the viewer to chuckle when their objectives run into misfortune (particularly Howard's). Howard desperately tries to avoid being a part of Judy's crazy shenanigans, but finds it nearly impossible (as illustrated when he breaks the fourth wall during the scholarly dinner and asks the viewer for "help"). It's as if we think to ourselves, "Great, how much more crap does Howard have to go through in order to obtain freedom from Judy?" Interestingly, however, Judy is exactly what Howard needs to live a more rounded life. She is a necessary conflict that refines all of his hard edges. The conflicts presented in this film provoke laughter not just because they are incredibly exaggerated, but because they remind us of our own human frailty and need for lightheartedness. Perhaps, then, we laugh at Howard's misfortunes because we realize more clearly that conflict, whether in movies or in reality, lies in some ways at the center of what is considered funny.
The film relies heavily upon chaos. That is, you can pretty much expect the fulfillment of Murphy's Law from moment to moment. Chaos is the medium by which the story thrives and pokes fun at a variety of human flaws, including: those who lie, cheat and steal in order to obtain certain objectives. Howard lies to ensure fidelity within his fiancé; Judy cheats by knowingly flirting with an engaged man; and the handbag robbers are those who obviously steal from one another. By exploiting each weakness through catastrophic events, the film's moral corrective is revealed: If you lie, cheat and steal, your life will be complicated. Viewers will laugh at the way human nature is depicted because each character is so vastly contrasted with the next. Take Howard and Judy for example; a pair that couldn't be more polarized. He's a substitute "rocks for brains" type geek; a competing musicologist that wants a scholarly grant, not to mention takes life too seriously. To the contrary, she's a madcap burst of excitement; a happy-go-lucky and socially attractive vixen that delights in the wild and adventurous chase of romance.
Together, then, the two create a sea of clashing character objectives that humorously induce the viewer to chuckle when their objectives run into misfortune (particularly Howard's). Howard desperately tries to avoid being a part of Judy's crazy shenanigans, but finds it nearly impossible (as illustrated when he breaks the fourth wall during the scholarly dinner and asks the viewer for "help"). It's as if we think to ourselves, "Great, how much more crap does Howard have to go through in order to obtain freedom from Judy?" Interestingly, however, Judy is exactly what Howard needs to live a more rounded life. She is a necessary conflict that refines all of his hard edges. The conflicts presented in this film provoke laughter not just because they are incredibly exaggerated, but because they remind us of our own human frailty and need for lightheartedness. Perhaps, then, we laugh at Howard's misfortunes because we realize more clearly that conflict, whether in movies or in reality, lies in some ways at the center of what is considered funny.