Will Ferrell copped a fair amount of criticism from audiences for ghetto chucklesfest Get Hard. In case you missed it, that was the one where he sought the advice of Kevin 'Ride Along' Hart on how to be sufficiently "street" for a life behind bars. Throw in a scantily-clad Alison Brie cavorting about the place in her undercrackers and you had all the ingredients for a near-the-knuckle pie with a side order of unacceptability. Ferrell weathered the storm, but it goes to show, when it comes to gender, race and sexuality, we're pretty darned sensitive these days. We like our women empowered, our ethnic groups even-handed and our gays/lesbians non-threatening and flamboyant. Some think it's better this way, others reckon the fun police broke up the party. Take a look back at movie comedies and you won't be surprised to find some grossly-outdated material. It's just the way things were then. What may be eye-popping however is the blatant wrongheadedness of some gags from as late as the Noughties. A fact to conjure with as we drag you kicking and screaming through the decades to the times good taste forgot...
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
