18th and Fairfax

 Harvey was a very fun movie and I'm glad I got the chance to see it. This movie was a very interesting movie and the characters really are what this film is really about. It's also obvious that this movie has had a profound effect on film and television since its creation. This film used comedy in a different manner than most of the other movies that we've seen during the course of this semester. This movie didn’t have me laughing out loud, or even chuckling, I don’t think that the movie was trying to even convey this kind of humor. The humor was in the situation, it was a subtle humor that can be found in the everyday life of most people. The humor that was conveyed in this film was mostly about piquing people’s interest and most of the outward humor that I saw revolved around Harvey and people’s perception of Mr. Elwood and Harvey. This is a humor that revolves around unexpected situations and reactions. The other subtle humor used was in the interactions between the other characters. These two different types of comedy are in contrast with each other, but at the same time, complement each other.

The humor that revolved around people and how they interact reminded me of a Wes Anderson film, at least in my perception. I saw this because again, it is subtle as well as quick. The exchanges people have in this film are comical in the content in which they speak about, such as Veta’s various conversations with Judge Gaffney. When she’s talking to him in a hush-hush tone at the beginning of the film, it’s funny because she’s whispering so low that she’s not saying a single thing, and neither is the Judge, but yet they’re communicating somehow. It also is humorous because it’s an awkward moment for Veta. She is trying to act out her front stage behavior in front of her guests as well as try to keep Elwood from returning home. This humor serves the purpose of pushing people into awkward situations and making them look foolish. The other more situational humor surrounding Harvey isn’t really in how people are communicating, but how they react and how they’re not communicating (mostly the beginning of the film). People don’t know how to react to Elwood and Harvey, and their reactions to him are funny, of course because people don’t really expect to see a grown man taking to an invisible 6’ tall rabbit named Harvey.

Both these different types of humor are part of the same general theme that stitch together quite seamlessly, both types of humor come together to bring people out of their comfort zones and see how they react outside of their perceived notions of how the world works. This comes full circle and becomes what this movie really is about, pulling people out of their shells and helping them to see others and get to know others that they would otherwise neglect, case and point, Dr. Sanderson and Kelly.  Overall this film was very fun and held my attention very easily and I think that the concepts of the film were very easy to relate to.