Get Out, A Comedy

by: Mia

November 14th, EW released that Get Out will be competing at the Golden Globe Awards as a Comedy.

#GetOut to compete as a comedy at Golden Globes https://t.co/vGs12mgdbq

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) November 14, 2017

LilRel Howery says what we're all thinking on his Twitter Account:

But if I can be honest this is weird to me... Their is nothing funny about racism... Was it that unrealistic lol https://t.co/5xSXBmatfP

— Lil Rel Howery (@LilRel4) November 14, 2017

Get Out, which follows the spiral of a sweet relationship between two college students as they visit the estate of the sociopathic and supportive Rose's parents is most definitely not a Comedy. Chris, the boyfriend, is thrust into a fight against a new and sinister form of enslavement mastered by the Armitage Estate. The Armitages don't kill people, they steal people, and not just any people but Black bodies with something worth claiming. Ironic? Sure. Triggering? Sure. Funny? Occasionally, but enough to define the film? Let's review.

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Chris is a photographer, envied for his eye for beauty, comes to the wrong place and ignores every red flag shouting at him probably since he agreed to the weekend trip. His voice of reason and best friend Rod is the only person who believes what he’s sensing isn’t crazy, which very well could be because he’s the only Black character in the film that Chris consults who hasn’t been body snatched by wealthy, affluent, over-educated psychopaths.

Rod, played by LilRel Bowery, is consistently the only comedic relief in this tale of white fetishism. He answers every call from his stranded friend Chris with strict warnings of the danger he’s probably getting into, even before Chris starts reporting creepy encounters and all too common racial tensions faced by Black people in white spaces. Rod is the voice of the audience and ultimately he’s right all the way up until the end of the film. If you want the full review of the film, I watched and reviewed it here, but for now let’s focus on this fact.

In over a hundred minutes of film, ONE character serves as a comedic plot device. The other characters are constantly plotting, creeping, or suffering the generational secret of the Armitage estate. Granted, Jordan Peele, a well-known television and film Comedian directed and produced this film, but is that enough to brand his debut film a comedy, despite it being a HUNDRED minute THRILLER that left audiences shouting at the screen and tense at every development?

According to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Golden Globe Award Consideration Rules, the Drama or Comedy Category section is a “Motion pictures [are] entered in the category that best matches the overall tone and content of the motion picture. Thus, for example, dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas.”

Who makes the decision? Did Peele check the box for Comedy, laughing maniacally as he imagined the confusion it would trigger? Or more likely, did someone drop the ball when interpreting the true value behind the conversation Peele has with this film.

No doubt, this film will do great no matter the genre it is listed under. Even if it doesn’t, which is a loss that happens often in mainstream Hollywood, we all know that this film broke barriers and spoke to an audience far too used to being ignored in the Horror Film industry.

Kudos to the Cast of Get Out. We all know who got the last laugh in this Psychological Thriller. Let’s hope they laugh onto the stage for every award this Comedy wins.

Images Courtesy of IMDB