The critic returns to examines more of the techniques and conventions behind classic movie genres, beginning by looking at the tropes of British comedies. Mark argues that they win laughs by tapping into the public's abiding national preoccupations, from rooting for the underdog to the subversion of class and manners, as well as the audience's fascination with comedy and crime, and pastiches and parodies that take the big beasts of Hollywood down a peg or two.
