Bumbling crooks have long been a part of comedy. Two of the most iconic are probably Harry and Marv from the Home Alone movies. Yes, they’re dangerous, but they’re also dumb enough to for us (and Kevin) to stay one step ahead of them. Dave Barry offers two comparable crooks, Snake & Eddie, in Big Trouble. I loved this description. While disguising themselves with masks from the women’s undergarments department, Barry includes “pelvic region, ” and makes a humorous & visual analogy with the “large, frightened rabbit.” This kind of humorous incongruity may also take you back to the appearance of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man in Ghostbusters–when Ray explains:
“I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us. Mr. Stay Puft!”
I’ve been looking for some funny books of late–the kind that make you laugh out loud. They’re hard to come by. It takes more time to set-up the joke in literature than it does with quick visuals or physical humor seen in film and television. Many of us remember Dave Barry’s humor from the 90s and 2000s, so I thought I’d read a couple of his novels . . . and there were definitely some laughs! You can learn more about Barry and his writing in GoodReads. And if you know of any books that made you laugh out loud, let me know!
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