Is the movie comedy that pushes two hours and change really a modern problem?
And why are so many comedies so long?
105 minutes tops is all you need, if youre talented.
The recent Tina Fey/Amy Poehler film,Sisters, is two hours long.
But then, isnt that typical of modern cinema?
Since the 1980s, in fact.
There are several factors for this, with technology playing an important role.
In the 1980s, VHS tapes won the format war against Betamax, and home video took off.
The longer the film, the higher the cost of manufacture for the video release.
VHS was replaced by DVD, and film reels were replaced with digital projection.
So, comedy films are getting longer because films are generally speaking getting longer.
Some movies adaptations, for example have excusable reasons for their lengths.
They are also expected to make you laugh consistently.
Having mentioned Will Ferrell, lets look at two of his films.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy(2004) is 94 minutes long, according to IMDB.
The sequel,Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues(2013), is 119 minutes.
If the latter option is chosen, then theres the question of how far to edit them down.
Crucially, most of the films Ive listed here have been well-received by audiences.
While average running time appears to have increased, its harder to say average film quality has changed.
But even if the quality remains at similar levels, if the films are longer, then they mayfeelworse.
