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Just struggling with this...

So I want a character to look obsessive and detailed about stuff in a funny way. He's an engineer and outside of his job (but maybe in the office), I want to show him being really OCD and obsessive.

For example, showing him at the beach with his wife / girlfriend. Then he starts building a little sandcastle. Then he goes away, gets some electronic measuring equipment and we see him measuring stuff, clearly making something bigger. His wife shaking her head in an eye-rolling sort of way.

Then we see him patting it down and the wide shot is a giant sandcastle, beautifully made. Then he starts wanting to call a JCB in and his wife gets up and she's had enough.

However, I'd need a JCB, a sandcastle builder and a relatively empty bit of beach (which I can do).

Maybe I'd have him lay the table. So his wife gives him some cutlery to put down on the table. He makes him sausages and he puts the knife and fork on the table and tries to make it absolutely perfect. He then tries to square it perfectly on the table. He goes away and returns with scientific measuring apparatus etc... Cue pictures on screen of him obsessively squaring it off using high tech equipment.

His wife comes out with the food and he signals for her to go away. She complains that the food will be getting cold (she mimes it) but he adamantly signals for her to move back.

The next shot is of him getting it perfect and then wondering where his food is. At this point, his wife is watching TV and the dog is licking his plate clean...

What do you think? Do you have any ideas?
 
I don't see a punchline in either of those scenarios... yeah writing comedy is hard.
It's something I'd have to think about for a while to come up with a truly funny scenario.
 
this may come as a surprise, but people from all walks of life enjoy seeing themselves represented in film.

represented well, this is just laughing at someone whose life is deeply affected...
whats funny here?
that it interferes with the basics of his life?
that it consumes all his time?
that it effects his relationship?
that it ruined his meal so hes hungry?

representation and exploitation are different
 
represented well, this is just laughing at someone whose life is deeply affected...
whats funny here?
that it interferes with the basics of his life?
that it consumes all his time?
that it effects his relationship?
that it ruined his meal so hes hungry?

representation and exploitation are different

it's not funny, and he knows it, thats why he made the thread.. he's struggling with how to portray the concept in a funny scenario and asked for our help. writing funny stuff is hard!
 
I like the idea and think it could have some funny situations but I don't really see how these two specific scenes would work


For this to work as humor, I'd want the payoff to be that his obsessiveness helps him tremendously in an unexpected way.

Exactly as mlesemann said, I think something that could really make this work is to give it the same kind of feeling as The Man Who Knew Too Little, where his OCD gets him into situations that look grim but always seem to go his way one way or another.
 
I like the idea and think it could have some funny situations but I don't really see how these two specific scenes would work




Exactly as mlesemann said, I think something that could really make this work is to give it the same kind of feeling as The Man Who Knew Too Little, where his OCD gets him into situations that look grim but always seem to go his way one way or another.

That's the funniest bill murray movie :lol:
 
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