Vince Vaughn reveals the depressing reason Hollywood no longer produces raunchy comedy movies for men
Vince Vaughn spoke at length about why Hollywood no longer produces racy comedies similar to the films that made him famous.
The Swingers star told Sean Evans, host of the popular YouTube show Hot Ones, that the nostalgic and edgy comedies he was known for in the ’90s and 2000s are essentially dead.
The reason? The Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers star said he believes studios are too focused on specific “rules” or guidelines for making successful films, rather than taking risks with original ideas and trusting the creative process.
In other words, the Hollywood heavyweight said that film producers feel that R-rated comedies, a genre that was once dominant, are too risky in today’s market and that studios would rather opt for tried-and-true storylines that are guaranteed to be successful at the box office.
“They just think about it too much, which is crazy,” Vaughn said.
Vince Vaughn Gave the Inside Scoop on Why Hollywood No Longer Produces Racy Comedies Similar to the Films That Made Him Famous
In a recent appearance on the YouTube show “Hot Ones,” Vaughn attributed the shift to a risk-averse studio system that prioritizes safety over creativity
He compares this to changing the rules of geometry, which would fundamentally change the outcomes.
“You get these rules,” he added, “like if you were doing geometry and you said 87 degrees was a right angle, all your answers are messed up, instead of 90 degrees. So there was this idea or concept that came up, like, they would say something like, ‘You have to have an IP.’
The concept of ‘IP’ (intellectual property) is a particular point of frustration for Vaughn. He argues that films should be driven by strong storytelling, not simply by using a well-known brand or property as a foundation.
He uses the example of ‘Battleship’, a film based on a board game, to illustrate this point, suggesting that it was merely a way of telling a story, rather than a story that was built organically around the intellectual property.
Vaughn argued that the pressure on executives to avoid layoffs has led to a culture of playing it safe, even if it means compromising quality. By focusing on established IP, studios can protect themselves from failure, regardless of the film’s actual performance.
“The people in charge would rather not get fired than accomplish something great. They want to play by a set of rules that are somehow set in stone and don’t really work,” he told Evans.
“But as long as they play by those rules, they won’t lose their jobs. Because they can say, ‘Look, I made a movie about the board game Payday. Even if the movie wasn’t a success, you can’t let me go, can you?’
Despite this, Vaughn remains optimistic about the future of comedy, suggesting that audiences are still hungry for fresh, edgy humor. He hopes to see a return to more daring and original comedies in the near future.
“People want to laugh, people want to watch things that feel a little bit like they’re, you know, dangerous or pushing the boundaries,” Vaughn mused. “I think you’re going to see more of that in film sooner rather than later, I think.”