Giggly Americans Confuse Me

On the red carpet at the Oscars a few weeks back, James McAvoy mentioned during his interview with Ryan Seacrest that American audiences seem to laugh more during Atonement than British audiences. Having seen the film in the states twice (and not at all in England), I can say that this alarmed me very much in the theater. It was interesting to hear that McAvoy noticed a difference in audience reception.

So, what is it about the American audience that made so many chuckle? My guess is that less Americans had read the source material, Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel. The novel was my main reason for going, compounded by the fact that I’d spent the two months preceding the film’s release working pretty intensely on a paper about it, and the people I saw it with had read the novel as well. None of us were laughing. I think it’s pretty hard for anyone who has read the novel, and knows (without me giving anything away here) the devastating conclusion in store, to summon more than a smirk or two. The book did pretty well on the NYTimes bestsellers list, though, so maybe this theory doesn’t hold water.

Perhaps I simply underestimated the reading tastes and practices of the American public, and there is some other simple reason for the giggles that I’m just overlooking. I don’t think it can be explained away by different tastes in humor, because there is a lot of successful crossover with comedies from both countires.

Maybe the audience drawn to a Kiera Knightly film in the states (there did seem to be an inordinately large number of teenage girls in the audience at both screenings I caught) is simply a lot different than the audience a the same film, which stars many of Britain’s best-respected young actors (Knightly, McAvoy, Romola Garai, etc.), draws across the pond.

Whatever the case, the discrepancy will continue to confuse me and give me something to ponder for some time. If you have any theories that may enlighten me, please share them.