Screenwriting : It's funny for the scene, but is your character that funny? by Joshua Young

One thing I’ve discovered over the years from writing comedy is that a joke might be fantastic in a scene, but would the character saying it actually be that funny? The trend I’m noticing these days is characters in sitcoms and comedy series are funny beyond the realism set up for their personality. It used to happen from time to time, but now it seems to be all the time. While they talk like their character, when it comes to a joke, it’s beyond their established personality so the writer or producer can be sure the joke is as funny as possible.

I realized the difference between funny for the scene versus how funny the character when I watched the hilarious British series, “Gavin and Stacey.” There were some pretty lame jokes from time to time and other times, just flat-out funny jokes and situations. So why did they have lame jokes? Well, those jokes were the extent of that character’s humor. From the character's point of view, the joke wasn’t lame. This actually made the moment even funnier because we laughed at how bad their sense of humor was.

So now, when I write a joke, I try not to go beyond the extent of the character’s established personality. If I feel they wouldn’t be as funny as the joke I want to tell, I either modify the joke, turn the line into an action that suits their personality or the scene, preferably both, or make sure the joke is so lame that the audience finds that funny. Just some Sunday food for thought. Have a great rest of the weekend!