"Comedy is, in some way, the point of everything."

It is the dismissal of comedy as "un-important" that worries me.  ... RCA and I had a similar discussion a few weeks ago, when she said "I just don't see the point of Comedy." I'm still a little shocked by that statement--it has left me speechless for three full weeks, because, it seems to me Comedy is, in some way, the point of everything.  Dante's journey through the afterlife is called a "comedia" for a reason.  And while slapstick and puns and romantic comedies are not la comedia in this fullest sense, they share something of it's nature.  Comedy is about justice and about reason--even at its most absurd. A pun is funny because it surprises our reason with a new connection.  Slapstick is funny because no one deserves a pie in the face.  The Misanthrope is funny because he is absurd, and yet, we pity him and see ourselves in him, and the only way to deal with such absurdity in ourselves is to throw up out hands and laugh.

Margaret at Ten Thousand Places defends comedy very well (go read it). Once again, Margaret says what I am thinking with her speechlessness in the face of a complete rejection of comedy.  (That quote which serves as my headline? It's going straight to the pool room ... uhhh ... quote journal.)

She also, perhaps, justifies why my movie of choice for this week's A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast is The Castle. Scott and I find a surprising amount to say about this quirky, warm little-known Australian comedy, as well as family, marriage, manners, and being friendly.