The Comic Hero’s Journey: Serious Story Structure for Fabulously Funny Films

The Hero’s Journey, thanks to Joseph Campbell and Chris Vogler, is a classic form of drama—a young man who has greatness within gets a call to go on an adventure. But what about the protagonist in a comedy? A comic hero or heroine also goes on a journey, but it’s often quite, quite different. The hero decides to go on the adventure; the comic hero often has no choice. The hero has a wise old man; the comic hero often meets an idiot who inadvertently says something that can teach him a thing or two. Steve Kaplan will show you the diverse paths that comedy takes in The Comic Hero’s Journey. Along the way, The Comic Hero’s Journey will show you how to utilize comedic character archetypes, how to create and develop a successful comic premise, and help you understand and master the Comic Paradigm, with specific references to both classic and contemporary comedies.