Adam Devine Says Marvel Ruined Comedies. He's Kinda Right

I wanted to post this entire clip in context. In the modern age, it's very easy to take one sentence that somebody said on a podcast, post it to Twitter, and then use that as an opportunity for people to ratio it into oblivion. And I won't sit here and act like Adam Devine is the connoisseur of all things comedy. I also don't think Adam DeVine probably has enough time to see every Marvel movie as I do. He's busy contributing to society. Every few months, it seems like a famous Director and/or actor comes out with a statement that Marvel ruins something. Martin Scorsese was under the belief that Marvel was ruining cinema, and now apparently, Marvel has ruined comedy. In this particular instance, I think Adam DeVine is kind of right. Let me explain why. 

I'm not a fan of most of what Marvel has put out post "Avengers: Endgame." Everything before that I felt like was golden. Regardless of what happens, Marvel will be remembered as a studio that pulled off the impossible. The idea of having an 11-year arc intertwining many different stories and connecting with "Avengers: Endgame" was legitimately unique storytelling. I will defend that until the end of time. But the Infinity Saga was remarkably consistent. Some films tended to venture a little bit darker, and some were lighter, but for the most part, every Marvel film through "Avengers: Endgame" had the same structure. They were all superhero action flicks with moments of comedy sprinkled throughout. It's a big reason why they appealed to so many different markets. They were the definition of solid mainstream blockbusters. There's a place for that. But now, in a post "Endgame" world, it feels like Marvel is so unconfident in the direction that they're taking their universe that they felt the need to load up on as much comedy as possible to save face. Marvel films used to have humor in them, but now they are comedies, and the sad truth is that they aren't very funny comedies either. 

I tried to read between the lines of what Adam Devine was saying. He was trying to argue that comedy should not be big and epic in scope. A $200 million comedy shouldn't be a thing. In general, I do agree with him on that. Comedy is a lot more fun when it comes from a personal place. And the issue with the comedy that has been inserted into so many recent Marvel films is that it is safe comedy. Safe comedy plays to a lot of different audiences. That's why those movies do very well. Comedies in the modern age are afraid to cross that line because nowadays, you'll be met with a chorus of people claiming that your movie is somehow offensive to one group or another. Being a multi-billion dollar studio, Marvel doesn't have to worry about that shit. 

As I said earlier, Marvel has always had amusing moments in their films. I think the "Avengers" movies have a lot of genuinely hilarious moments, but when the shit went down, and everyone needed to calm down for a second, and the films needed a dramatic moment, they would provide them. Marvel used not to be afraid to let the dramatic moment stand alone; now they are. This began with one of their more acclaimed films, and that would be "Thor: Ragnarok." Don't get me wrong; I enjoy "Thor: Ragnarok." But Marvel didn't know what to do with Thor following the mixed reception of "Thor: The Dark World," so they just Flanderized all the characters and made them silly. With "Ragnarok," it worked, but it seems like they've done the same thing with several characters in the MCU to a point where these films are just comedies with sitcom-like humor. 

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" was one of the few recent Marvel movies that tried to venture into more serious territory. Rocket's story arc is genuinely tragic, but every time you became invested, it was undermined by an out-of-place joke. The "Guardians Of The Galaxy" movies were always some of the lighter that the MCU had to offer, but when it mattered, those emotional moments were allowed to stand on their own. Marvel doesn't allow for that anymore. But as long as these movies keep making money, they will keep making them lighter in tone. Financially, the safe comedy is working. 

Could the comedies we got in the 2000s no longer exist solely because Marvel has cornered the market on comedy films? Absolutely not. Comedy films are becoming less prevalent and, therefore, less funny due to the heightened culture we live in. Sadly, I would argue that Marvel is part of that heightened culture. This studio initially fired James Gunn for offensive tweets until he was brought back to write and direct "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" So no, I don't believe that Marvel is responsible for the death of comedy. But I also don't think that they've done comedy any favors.