Whenever there’s a fart in a movie, it’s a choice that stems from a filmmaker who either knows exactly what they’re doing or has no idea what they’re doing. So when I first learned of Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, a Norwegian family sci-fi about a chemical that grants a kid fart-powered flying abilities, I had to admire the audacity of making a feature film reliant on bum breeze.
Does the movie do something new with film flatulence or is it just one gigantic, lame fart joke? Beats me; I haven’t seen it. But it did get me thinking about farts and their rightful – or wrongful – place in cinema.
Too often, a film drops a simple fart sound with no thought beyond FARTS = FUNNIES. It’s the cheapest gag there is, earning laughs from children and the Adam Sandler fan club. At its worst, a film will grind to a halt in order to have its characters partake in a fart-off…
Or to fart constantly without knowing when to stop…
Or they’ll only fart once, but constantly remind you that they just farted…
This tiresome and lazy reliance on cheap fart jokes has made the idea of a good fart joke seem like a logical contradiction. But a fart can work on-screen, and when it does, it can push the plot forward or grow the characters in a meaningful way.
Don’t give me that face; this shit makes sense. For example…
Last year, I praised Laika’s The Boxtrolls for a climactic scene that relied on a smart fart joke. Without spoiling the ending, it’s a fart that makes complete sense to the character who commits the purposeful pooting and also works as penance for the greed this person displayed throughout the movie. Wisely, Laika filmed the fart in a way that doesn’t immediately point to the fact that it is a fart, making it easy to not even recognise it as a fart joke.
Another smart fart found its way into It Follows, the current cult favourite indie horror. It’s not a moment that pushes the plot forward – a girl essentially farts a punchline while the group are chilling at home – but it’s a fart that introduces the characters as laid-back and casually crude. It also defies mainstream cinema’s weird reluctance to show women’s ability to fart.
It might also be easy to forget the silent-but-deadly-sweet running fart joke in Shaun of the Dead…
Not only does it build upon the friendship between office stiff Shaun (Simon Pegg) and slacker Ed (Nick Frost), it doesn’t even rely on the sound of a fart either. Even more impressive is how the fart joke is reused near the end in the movie’s most heart-breaking scene, AND IT ADDS TO THE DRAMA!
This isn’t to say all good farts push the story forward or develop the characters in a meaningful way. Sometimes all it takes is some comedic originality to sell the silliness. I’m going to use Step Brothers as my championing example…
Yes, it’s a long fart. Yes, they reference the fact that he farted. But here’s why it works:
The fart completely plays against Seth Rogen’s statement about the step brothers not seeming “like, the weirdest guys ever,” which hits the mark with comedic absurdity. They stretch that “Did he really just fart?” absurdity out into humorous awkwardness, thus, the lingering is justified. Rogen’s reaction to the fart is reflective of the audience’s reaction – “Was that a fart?” – which completely acknowledges the fact that the filmmakers knew they went into fact joke territory and the negative stigma around cinema fart jokes. He also makes another reference to the fart – “I can taste it… on my tongue.” – and while the gag probably could have done without the onion and katchup line, it brings it all home by connecting it back to the tuxedos. Given all this, the fart joke works.
Next time you see a fart joke in a film, don’t dismiss it immediately. Give it a chance and see if any decent thought has been applied to the gag. There’s more artistry to a good fart than you may think, it just requires a good direction.
Fartistic Direction, if you will.
