Lynn Shelton Embraces Awkwardness and Vulnerability in the Exceptional Comedy Humpday

For much of the history of American comedies, gay panic jokes were as standard of a source of comedy as sleeping on a banana peel. Just because they were ubiquitous doesn't mean they weren't harmful or unfunny. The rampant presence of gay panic jokes no doubt contributed to pop culture broader issue of normalizing the dehumanization and mockery of queer individuals, particularly between men. Throughout the history of cinema, though, plenty of great classic comedies have managed to generate yuks without restoring to a cheap trick like gay panic gags. Among such comedies was Humpday, Lynn Shelton's second directorial effort that, on paper, seems like it could have gone down a much more mocking path.

The Political Farce In The Loop Doesn't Feel All Too Divorced From Reality

When you do topical comedy, there's always the chance that it may become dated years down the line and end up reading as incoherent to viewers years later. From 2009 specifically, I'm sure there are numerous sketches related to "balloon boy" and Jon And Kate Plus Eight that read like gibberish to 2018 viewers, hell, I'm still trying to figure out why we were all so obsessed with Jon And Kate Plus Eight! But then there's In The Loop, a political comedy from 2009 that was a critique of the war-driven politics of the 2000's but registers as plenty humorous in the modern age because it doesn't just rely on elements ripped from 2009 newspaper headlines. Peter Capaldi swearing profusely will always be funny, it's as timeless as anything in this universe!