It's Time To Rethink How We Review Comedy

No matter how you feel about Rotten Tomatoes, it's undeniable that people look to their scores for film recommendations. It's the culmination of opinions and the percentage score is something we, as former schoolchildren, can appreciate. Personally, I take Rotten Tomatoes with a grain of salt, and I have a strict rule to discount any film that's older than the website. However, going to the movies is expensive, and it's a good source to gauge whether or not something is worth your time. I'm not 16 anymore... I don't have the luxury to just "check out" Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.When it comes to Rotten Tomatoes, I have a system. If it's a drama, I won't typically settle for anything under 90% (if you're going to make me cry, you damn well better earn it). If it's a horror or an action, I'll drop down to 70% (for the record, if it's something I'm dying to see, no low score will stop me). However, if it's a comedy, I won't even check.There are a lot of factors that go into filmmaking, but when it comes to comedy, we tend to judge based on one thing: did we laugh? The problem with reviewing comedy is there's no middle ground. In other genres, it's easier to pick things apart and appreciate certain filmmaking aspects, but it's rare to leave a comedy thinking "that cinematography was magnificent". There are exceptions, but ultimately, it comes down to laughs. Interestingly, when a movie falls into a subgenre, it becomes instantly easier to critique. Rom-coms and action comedies aren't required to have a laugh a minute, and therefore have the luxury of relying on their other sides to thrive.The problem with judging a film solely on laughs is that everyone has a different range of what tickles their funny bone, and it can be a fine (and weird) line. For example, I don't go in for fart jokes but I do like lowbrow humor (in seventh grade, I watched American Pie every single day). I love roasts but I hate watching people get physically hurt (except the Jackass guys... they're great).My absolute favorite director in the history of comedy is David Wain, which means my brand of comedy is Wet Hot American Summer and They Came Together. Now, I know that my tastes are not for everyone. If you love comedy, you might not love David Wain, and I think even David Wain would understand that. It's not like action, where if you love action, you loved Mission: Impossible – Fallout (unless you didn't, in which case, I don't think you love action at all).

Let's focus on some fairly recent comedies that were universally disliked and try to figure out why: Baywatch, Rough Night, and Happytime Murders. I enjoyed all of these flops, partially because I love the casts and partially because I saw them under the right circumstance.Zac Efron is a wildly underrated comedic actor (his pretty face makes it hard for us to view him as funny, which is a shame). Dwayne Johnson has already proven himself to be comically-inclined. So what went wrong with Baywatch? First and foremost, it was advertised incorrectly. The trailer made it seem like an action comedy, but it was incredibly raunchy and over-the-top, which certainly isn't for everyone. Expectation is damaging in many film cases, but it can really kill a comedy. Baywatch might be gratuitous and ridiculous, but it's an undeniably entertaining movie. Good? Maybe not. Rewatchable? Absolutely.Despite the killer cast, Rough Night was not perceived well by critics. The film had some issues and some problematic moments, but I still enjoyed it. This is probably because I saw it with hoard of friends who are obsessed with the cast and were excited at the prospect of an all-female comedy. Maybe if we had more comedies starring women (that are not rom-coms), my friends and I would've judged this film a little more harshly.Thankfully, female-led comedies are starting to become more frequent (last year's Girls Trip was awesome), but they're not being made fast enough for us to get picky. The question is, does my need to see funny women onscreen and my positive external experience with Rough Night deem me unqualified or more qualified to review it? I laughed the whole time, but there's no way to know if I would have loved it alone or if there were more options to choose from.The most recent example of unfair comedy treatment is The Happytime Murders. While it's not the best raunchy puppet movie I've ever seen, I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh. Brian Henson, Melissa McCarthy, and lowbrow humor are a combination that I was going to enjoy, no matter what. I'm certainly not going to tell you to seek it out for yourself no matter what (we have to know the difference between what makes a good comedy and what makes the kind of comedy we like to watch), but if I were to review it, it'd probably be one of the more positive reactions. It's sad that this movie has to be branded with a 21% when it delivered exactly what the trailer promised.

I'm not saying we should abolish the idea of reviewing comedy. As a comedian and comedy writer, I'm not trying to dodge criticism (what am I, a male comedian?). I'm just saying we need to be a little more open-minded before we bash something or chalk it up to a percentage. Honestly, I don't have a solution. The only thing we can do is be more open-minded and consider who a comedy is being made for before we reduce it to just being bad. And remember, laughter is infectious, so at the very least, go watch comedies with your friends.