Comedy Is a Man in Trouble: Slapstick in American Movies

While researching different types of humor for my research in (human-centric) computer information systems, I stumbled upon this book. Though I usually read technical article after technical article, I found this book to be a nice break from the usual. It provided me with the information I needed for my research, but with an added surprise. I found myself reading this book for pure enjoyment and entertainment. The subject is fascinating and the Dale does a great job of explaining it in the most interesting of ways. I think this is my next "coffee table book" once I put it down myself!

Dale's book is an entertaining and academic look not only at the medium of slapstick itself but also at our need to be entertained by it. The book's examination of silent slapstick includes not only the major players (Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd) but also covers women in silent comedy. What's also respectable is that Dale discusses Jerry Lewis's important contribution to slapstick in film without putting him on the pedestal other critics (and often Lewis himself) put him on, as well as Lewis's influence on contemporary visual humorists like Jim Carrey and the Farrelly Bros.