CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT!
A key issue with humor, especially in drama, is what’s funny to the character and what’s funny to
the audience. They are distinctly two different considerations when writing dialogue.
In general, what’s funny to the characters has to be carefully related to who the character is and
what has happened to the character in the story or relationship.
What’s funny to the audience has more to do with timing, context, and irony. Here’s a scene from
Blood Ties that uses humor that’s funny (I hope) to both the characters and the audience because
the punch line is totally unexpected in the context of this serious situation:
They all snuggle up now as Chestnut puts out the small fire. The hut
plunges into SUDDEN DARKNESS. The only sound is the rhythmic PATTER
OF RAIN on the roof of leaves.
TISH (V.O.)
Good night, Mr. Chestnut. Good night,
Skeeter.
CHESTNUT (V.O.)
Good night, Tish. Good night,
Skeeter.
A moment, then:
SKEETER (V.O.)
Good night, John Boy.
They all crack up…
Writing humor is tricky. It’s said that if you have to explain humor, you’re in trouble. But there are
some rules to consider. The first is the rule of threes. There’s a rhythm of three to writing humor:
The set-up (or straight line)
The punch line (or big laugh)
The follow-up (or little laugh)
And the icing on the cake is called:
The topper or piling on
In the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two bandits stand at the edge of a cliff while
the Mexican army gets closer. They face the choice of being captured or jumping. The set-up is
Butch declaring that they must jump. Sundance is hesitant and reveals he can’t swim—that’s the
punch line. The follow-up is Butch saying the fall will kill them both. The topper is how they
scream on the way down.
