So Random, So Funny

My favorite movies are full of clichés. Today for example I saw Valentine´s Day on the plane. The movie tells the story about different couples and how they are related with each other. I usually don´t enjoy those movies that are random and somewhat stupid that apparently are made to make people laugh. The only one that I enjoyed and laughed from the beginning till the end was the Hangover. That movie revolves around a plot. One guy is married and decides to go to Vegas for his bachelor party. He goes with four friends and they encounter obstacles through the trip. But those complications were not normal things like the airline lost my luggage, they were pointless and random. They were so drunk that one of the guys the responsible, got married to an prostitute and lost a tooth. That same morning when they woke up there was a baby waiting outside their hotel door and a tiger in bath room. Those things are not common you would not expect them to happen to you but you laugh when you see them.

I know that different people have different taste and what may be funny for you may not be funny for some one else but I have seen that absurd and random things usually make us laugh. The Cherry Orchard is a comedy that in my opinion reflects the reality of a family´s life. Reading it I did not find it funny, instead I though it was confusing. The play is full of characters and each of them narrate their own problems. When I got home, after I saw Valentine´s Day I saw act III of The Cherry Orchard and I laughed. Reading the play I was bored and then I found myself laughing at the same thing. I realized that what I was reading was meant to be watched, I am sure that if I read the script of the Hangover before watching the movie it would have been the same thing, the tiger in the bathroom would have just been absurd but when I saw the character’s face while looking at the tiger I could not control my laughter. The same thing happened with the play. When I read that Charlotta says “ Here´s a pack of cards. Think of any you like.” (96) it was ridiculous to me. They were all united waiting for the verdict of the auction and she decides to make magic tricks with cards. In the video it was different. Although it was still random it was funny because you see the way the characters reacted. All of sudden Lyubov enters the room with a worried face but when Charlotta takes out her deck of cards everyone forgets the worry and start laughing and enjoying themselves. Pishtchik also made me laugh, he was stressed out because he must pay “ the day after to-morrow 310 roubles” (95) but was enjoying himself very much laughing, clapping his hands and telling Charlotta he loved her. Things change again when Lyubov and Trimonov were discussing his relationship with Anya. They were frustrated and mad but all of sudden “Petya´s fallen downstairs” (100), the fall makes no sense but how random it was made it funny at least for me.

So there are different types of comedy and each approaches each viewer in a different way. And although The Cherry Orchard does not fall into my top five funniest movies, I do admit that I laughed at how random Chekov portrays his characters. He doesn´t make them do or say funny things but the story is funny. How a family is suffering because they have to sell their proudest possession but meanwhile each character has different problems that they share with everyone else even if they or are not interested in them. And how while those things happen random acts appear in the play that distract the character and makes the viewer (reader) laugh. It is those acts of randomness that makes The Cherry Orchard a comedy. It is reflecting our reality and we encounter random acts everyday that also makes us laugh even if we have problems like the people in the play.

P.S Here´s the tiger scene I have talking about.