Hollywood may have finally rediscovered the lost art of satire
Recent releases like Vengeance and Bodies Bodies Bodies have successfully mined topical statements in a fashion that has almost disappeared
Hollywood has forgotten to make the comedy, so much so that it’s one The Bubble away from shriveling up and dying. Satires have fared even worse in the equation, proving that directors have almost completely abandoned the yesteryear success of Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Over the past few months, low-budget films have reinstated some promise that flashy stars aren’t needed to make comedies work. Two in particular have made satire work again in inspired methods practically foreign to the toothless duds we get on a regular basis. One is even a bit of a scary movie, and it’s funnier than most of the other “jokefests” we’ve gotten over the past few months.
I never found time to fully review B.J. Novak’s Vengeance, which is a shame as the under-the-radar comedy has already disappeared from many movie theaters. The sharp story follows an uppity New York journalist who travels to Texas to investigate the death of his (sort of) girlfriend with her family, who are seeking more payback than he wants to. Novak pulls triple duty as a director, writer, and star that has a firm grasp on the central mystery’s intrigue as well as the culture shock between the urban and rural lifestyles. The script wisely subverts the easy punchlines, instead raising a thoughtful conversation about the judgments we can be quick to make when we refuse to let go of our preconceived notions of others. The setup doesn’t entirely earn its hastened ending and not every joke or dramatic beat comes together as a whole, but the snappy dialogue communicated through the vibrant performances prove that Novak has a strong voice.
Bodies Bodies Bodies was the recent newcomer in the seemingly never ending string of A24 releases this year, and it cemented an offbeat place in the studio’s “horror” roster. The (mostly flat) marketing campaign may have misled some audience members into thinking this was a traditional slasher with rich 20-somethings when it’s truly a whodunit spoofing the best and the worst of Gen Z. Per usual with the logo’s library, the limited cast is rounded out by top-shelf performers and every scene is directed with excellence (even making use of darkness to only add to the escalating paranoia). Though the genre has been well-worn throughout the years, this film managed to have some surprises up its sleeve with twists and turns to constantly leave you guessing about what’s going on, until the apt final reveal that neatly brings the preceding events full-circle. Leaning into a bouncy ambiance and a breakneck pace, Bodies is further proof that A24 never lets us down.
What these two standouts of summer’s indie sphere share is a ruthless ridicule of the vapid new age of millennials and Gen Zers (quite ironic when it comes to Vengeance, as Novak’s egotistical character on The Office). Bodies takes the uber-wealthy social media influencers aimlessly partying through the night, filling their seemingly aimless lives with drugs and booze. Their existences lived through social media have made them more self-aware, well-meaning in the attempts to be politically correct towards every group of people imaginable (Exchanges such as “Don’t call her a psychopath. It’s so ableist.” are common). By listing off surface-level terminology like “toxic” and “gaslighting”, the shallowness of their sensitivity proves how shoehorned in this language is while coming from a place of kindness. Not every joke lands, but most are organically incorporated to make a successfully subtle statement about how these characters doesn’t even understand much of what they say.
Vengeance also parodies both ends of the clean-cut writer from the city and the rough meatheads from Texas without aiming to be mean-spirited. The lead Ben is smart enough to know that he has something to say, but pretentious enough to think that his podcast is needed for everyone dumber than him (his idea is shot down early on “because not every white guy in New York City needs a podcast”). The toothpick-chewing Texans compound this with a similar variation, not shying away from their narrow-minded mentalities but showing that their warm hearts are more meaningful than anything Ben showed them. Neither of these are overt caricatures, and both sides have something to say about how we can interpret others while never compromising the stinging tone that makes it worth. Unlike most current comedies, it has bite in its satire without relying entirely on shock value or political jabs. It takes a talented director like Novak to make this comedy pointedly honest yet refreshingly balanced.
Satire has been a tricky balancing act in Hollywood’s recent years, and this one-two punch proves that we should leave this comedy to smaller films that actually have something to say (one bigger-budget example would be the mocking of celebrity culture in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent). Risk-averse punchlines and the incompetent directing pair of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer ran the concept of parody movies into the dirt, and the director-driven projects from indie studios show that this can be done without needing to be painfully heavy-handed. This is insightful satire at its best, with even more in its storytelling to offer beyond that. The witty humor in these low-budget efforts are not seen by many (and hey, even the MCU has forgotten how to do it right), but comedy in film is more alive than ever.
More from Almost A Critic
Why are the most popular franchises so afraid to kill their characters?
By trying too much, the MCU is doing too little for audiences
Has Hollywood Forgotten How To Make Action Movies?
Nope is just as puzzling as its title, and the answer is the best and worst of Jordan Peele
The Gray Man is Netflix perfecting the formula to underwhelm an audience
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ doubles the Thor, with only half the success of ‘Ragnarok’