The Return of the R-Rated Comedy?
Adam Driver linked to 'Hangover'-style romp suggests woke handcuffs are off
Will Ferrell may be forever Elf, but the actor became the face of R-rated comedies.
“Old School.” “Step Brothers.” “Anchorman.” That epic cameo in “Wedding Crashers.” And then the woke mob, even though it didn’t have that name at the time, came for him.
His 2015 comedy “Get Hard” got pummeled by critics, but not for the usual reasons. They decried the film for embracing stereotypes and “gay panic” humor. Never mind that the film’s co-star, Kevin Hart, was black and that Ferrell’s character was the butt of the joke.
Inappropriate gags were now in the cultural crosshairs. Other stars felt the heat, including Amy Schumer.
Her “Snatched” comedy caught similar heat, and it didn’t matter that both Schumer and Ferrell were loud and proud progressives. The woke comedy police couldn’t be stopped.
Big-screen comedies began to fade from the cultural radar. That was especially true of the R-rated romps where men behaved badly. Think “The Hangover” trilogy.
That franchise’s director, Todd Phillips, left comedies behind for “The Joker” due to the woke revolution.
“Go try to be funny nowadays with this woke culture…There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore—I’ll tell you why, because all the f***ing funny guys are like, ‘F*** this s***, because I don’t want to offend you.’ It’s hard to argue with 30 million people on Twitter. You just can’t do it, right? So you just go, ‘I’m out.’ I’m out, and you know what? With all my comedies—I think that what comedies in general all have in common—is they’re irreverent.”
And then a certain real estate mogul rose from the political ashes last year. Suddenly, woke handcuffs began to loosen. Roast comedies made an unlikely comeback.
Canceled stars found themselves on movie sets again. And we started to hear about new comedies that promised the R-rated chaos of yore.
World of Reel reports Adam Driver is in talks to star in “Blow Up the Chat,” a “Hangover”-style comedy getting serious buzz in La La Land. Having an A-lister like Driver in your film matters. It’s a sign that R-rated comedies could be on the comeback trail.
Director Jeff Schaffer of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame is behind the project. That show never bowed to the woke mob, so his presence should help.
And it’s not the only sign.
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Comedian Nick Swardson told a Denver crowd last month that he’s working on a new R-rated comedy, the kind that once made audiences howl. He’s got deep comedy connections, including with producer/actor Allen Covert.
That “Grandma’s Boy” alum is hellbent on bringing raucous comedies back to theaters.
Meanwhile, one of comedy’s rising stars is making the leap to the big screen. Matt Rife, part of today’s rebel comedy crew, just wrapped work on “Rolling Loud.” The project is described as an R-rated father-and-son comedy set at a hip-hop festival.
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Another rebel comic, Theo Von, just completed his first big comedy project. He’ll co-star with “Saturday Night Live” alum David Spade in “Busboys.” The R-rated film was independently produced and written, meaning they didn’t have to get approval from Hollywood suits along the way.
The film, with an appearance by Tim Dillon, is described as a buddy comedy set along a border town. What could go wrong?
Isn’t that the point?
We recently saw a pair of R-rated comedies that hinted at a return to a pre-woke era. “Ricky Stanicky” took too long to heat up, but the comedy captured some of that comic chaos. “No Hard Feelings” similarly flexed its R-rated muscles but its third act proved shockingly tepid.
Can these upcoming comedies revive the brand? More importantly, will audiences line up to see them? Should the first few projects wilt at the box office it’ll send a strong message.
Sure, we still love to re-watch “Step Brothers,” but the R-rated comedy era will remain part of Hollywood’s past.