Inter-Textual Analysis

Happy Gilmore
In Happy Gilmore, the genre is incredibly easy to notice. The genre is comedy but there are not many signifiers though to tell us that it conforms to this genre.

The first 2 minute of the movie is a parts of home movies. This includes videos from when he was a boy right up until the present day in the movie. As this home movie is going on, he is the voice over and is telling us about each clip and haw it was important. This is where the main comedy is coming from. This is because, when he is speaking, you automatically hear his voice and judge him as being stupid and dumb because his grammar is bad and enthusiasm is very low. when he is talking about each part of the video, it seems to him that what he is saying is not funny and just a narrative to his life but certain things he says, are processed by the audience and are deemed as a joke and humour. For example he says something genuine about his father’s death but we process it as a joke because of the irony. His father died at a hockey game, but the irony comes from that he was killed by him and Happy Gilmores favourite player at a hockey game as he is hit by a rogue shot from the player. When he is voicing over on this part, he says, ‘and sometimes things go bad’ but says it at such a precise time as you would a punch line and this is where the ironic comedy comes from. in the first 2 minutes that is the only type of comic behaviour or humour in that 2 minutes, which is very subtle but effective comedy.

In the home videos, Happy Gilmore is represented as an angry little hockey player. We know this through the actions that he does. For example, we know that he is a hockey fan as he says that he is made for that sport and it’s all he’s ever wanted but you also see him causing trouble for no reason and taking it out on other. This denotes that he is an angry person with a ‘short fuse’ and he cannot control his anger or his actions.

The fact that the first two minutes is a home video enforces that fact that Happy Gilmore is a very genuine and unique child and this also adds to the comic nature of the film as he is always the odd one out.

The music in the background is Lynyrd Synyrd – Tuesday’s gone. This could show that he misses his child hood and that the good times have gone. This could represent that he doesn’t have a good time anymore and wants his child hood fun to return.


Hot Fuzz
In hot fuzz, the genre is very hard to determine within the first 2 minutes. This is because the start is an introduction of Nicolas Angel. Nicolas angel works for the Metropolitan Police and is the best the police force has to offer.

Nicolas angel is represented as a very disciplined and ‘self proud’ person. This is denoted from his costume and actions. As he is a police officer he is wearing the uniform and he is unshaven and very tidy. This represents that he is proud of himself and proud to be in the police force and is taking his role very seriously. Furthermore, when being introduced you see him in various athletic and sports clothes. This shows that he is very athletic and is training to be the best that he can. Whenever you see him he has a much disciplined posture, facial expression and motion. This further reinforces that he is taking his job at the police incredibly serious and is proud to be apart of the force.

When he is being introduced, there is a voiceover telling you his achievements, his great work and respectful attitude towards the force. The use of a voiceover in this instance talking about him and his life signifies that he is so good that he has his own introduction. From this we then get a firm idea that he is the best and there is nobody better than him.

Although there are not many clear signifiers that this is a comedy, there is background music which conforms to this genre. The song Adam ant – goody two shoes. This could be seen as this song is aimed at Nicolas as he is a goody two shoes. Lyrics from the song include; ‘you don’t drink, you don’t smoke, what do you do?’ This could signify that he does not have a life outside of his job and his job is his life, which we later find out this is correct. This could also signify that he does everything by the rules and is very text book and will do everything the right way.

From the first 2 minutes, the only comedy present would be the ironic conflict between the music and the voiceover as if they are binary
opposites. For example the voiceover is saying his achievements while the song is saying he does not have a life and is ‘a goody two shoes.’ This therefore could conform to Levi-Strauss’s theory of binary opposites.


Johnny English
In the first 2 minutes of Johnny English, you can tell instantly that it is a comedy genre. Although in the first 20 seconds you think that it’s an action genre because of the fast paced music, camera angles, lighting and costume. There are a lot of low angle shots and cameras following the person on screen. This shows that he has the power and control. It is set in at night and there are a lot of shadows which the character blends very much into. This represents that he is dark, mysterious and has a concealed identity. This is Further backed up by the costume he is in. he is dressed in a black special ops suit which further conforms to the action genre. Although, he is stopped by a pack of guard dogs and the genre completely changes. He pulls out some squeaky dog toys and chucks them and the dogs follow. This instantly changes the genre from action to comedy. This unexpected humour has a harder impact because the audience are convinced that it is action and get ready for explosions and fighting but are surprised by this comic behaviour which makes it funnier as the audience are caught of guard. In addition, I think that it’s funnier because they are laughing at the humour, but also at themselves because they made themselves believe that it was this action genre.

Furthermore, in this first 2 minutes, the organisations are introduced and we are introduced to the real Johnny English. What the audience first see – when he is infiltrating a mansion – is really a day dream. At the conclusion of this dream, it fades to him daydreaming whilst at work with his colleague trying to wake him up. His colleague finally shouts at him and he is startled but so is the audience. This is because whilst the audience are laughing at the humour, they are attacked once more as they are caught of guard. In this film this is the humour that they went for, making the audience think one thing and then doing something completely different and unexpected. I think that this 2 minute starting is one of the best atmospheric and enjoying starts I have ever come across.