It’s often been said that the difference between comedy and tragedy is the way in which we choose to frame it. Obinna Onyeri is masterful at achieving this, displayed most recently in his film New Rules. Written and directed by Mr. Onyeri, New Rules was awarded the George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship and earned a best director nomination for Obinna at Austin Comedy Film Festival Summer 2022. Relationship woes are evergreen and this film reminds us that as long as we are willing to take a risk on love, that emotion might smack us down on the ground, almost in a literal sense. Essentially a story told through the female gaze, New Rules is unafraid to portray the visceral manifestation of passion, with a great deal of humor. In an equal society, women should be allowed to exhibit the same brashness as their male counterparts and this film capitalizes on that. Even so, there’s a bittersweet catharsis at the end of the film which is most unexpected.
Obinna isn’t shy about his opinions concerning comedy. The cast is minimal by design. He confides, “Having this small number of characters was intentional. From my experience, it’s better to have a small cast for a comedy piece where everyone gets to shine and have their jokes land rather than to have a big cast and have people fade in the background with the jokes getting lost in translation. Also, because of how chaotic some of the comedic scenes were going to play, I mean we had a fight sequence in the bathroom that had to also be funny, a smaller cast just felt right to achieve the goals set for the film. Comedy is quite a challenge and is an easy medium to quickly fail at because once your audience isn’t laughing at the jokes you’ve written or scenarios you’ve created, you know you’ve crashed and burned. Hence you must do everything in your power as a director (along with the help of your team) to create a lively space where each actor can feel comfortable enough to be their own goofy, fun, and enigmatic self.”
The jumping off point for New Rules is when Shanté decides to take her friend Chloe, whom was recently cheated on by Shante’s boyfriend Mark, out for a night of respite from depression. They walk into a restaurant to find Mark’s paramour [Rosaline] already at the eatery with another man. The tension spikes repeatedly as Shanté attempts to dissuade Chloe from dramatics. Rosaline excuses herself to the bathroom and a series of events transpire which would devastating if the audience were actually “in” the film rather than observing the characters. The tone of this film certainly covers a wide expanse. Vacillating between the connection of heartbreak and the compulsion to exact our revenge without truly understanding the entire story, Obinna has measured these movements with exacting precision. He relates, “The chemistry among our cast was truly exceptional in our film. I think you’ll quickly recognize this when watching New Rules. The first scene with Chloe and Shanté at the bar was all about building chemistry between friends. I did multiple chemistry reads with the actors who came to audition for the role to find the best actors with the most organic chemistry and then did more rehearsals to elevate this with the actors who got the roles. On set, I strongly believe in collaboration. I allowed my actors to try new things and approaches they felt would best serve their character’s personality. As I have come to understand about directing comedy, it’s always okay to be flexible with your directions so that you can get enough variation in the performance of your actors to be able to play within the editing room.” He continues, “With the fight scene between Chloe, Rosaline and Shanté, the goal was to strike the right balance between satire and seriousness. I hired a stunt coordinator to assist with the fight scene. Several rehearsals were done to be able to pull off the final chorography we see on screen.”
Comedy which is manufactured is stale but when allowed to variate, it surprises. Ironically, a fright and a laugh are both most effective when unexpected. New Rules is an accumulation of these moments which catch the audience off guard. There’s nothing new about unrequited love but the ability to skew a perspective that elicits a laugh is always welcome. New Rules creator Obinna Onyeri concurs, “Comedy is hit or a miss and you usually know right away by the reaction of the crowd. To leave the audience feeling happy about accomplishing this goal for the film was a rewarding experience for me.” Mr. Onyeri is currently working on The Woman King with Daytime Emmy Award Winning Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Oscar/BAFTA/Primetime Emmy Award Winning Actress Viola Davis.
Writer: Coleman Haan