Comedy is a dead genre of film. Yes, Hollywood still produces movies that can yank a laugh or two from the audience, but films designed to be pure comedies from the ground up no longer exist. Again, to clarify, dramedies and rom-coms are still around, but movies akin to The Nutty Professor, The Jerk, and The Bellboy, which only aim for hilarity, have all but disappeared in modernity. There are a plethora of factors that have contributed to comedy's demise in cinema, but the biggest culprit is the reliance on wit. Instead of choosing talented actors with objectively comedic skills(i.e., impressions, funny voices, precise facial and bodily control, etc.) to engage in funny scenarios, modern comedies rely on quippy dialogue and pop culture references alone.
Due to the dearth of genuine comedy films, I've found myself returning to the classics, and few actors are as hilarious and classic as Buster Keaton. Due to the limitations of the technology at the time, Keaton made the whole world laugh without ever uttering a word. Today happens to be Mr. Keaton's birthday, and I thought it'd be cool to listen his an excerpt of his final interview to celebrate the occasion.
