From the pages of Howard Suber’s The Power of Film” (Michael Weise, 424 pages), here’s Suber Lesson #2: “I.A.L. Diamond,who co-authored Some Like it Hot with Billy Wilder, once said that a good comedy uses ‘a sub-structure that’s as strong as it would be in drama…I think any comedy, with a slight change of emphasis, should be able to play as a drama.” People who have never learned the essence of telling a joke will often begin by telling you, ‘This is funny.’ But effective humor, whether it’s in a joke or a feature film, depends on the teller of the story pretending not to knowit’s funny.”
