Slapstick- (#1 minor sub-genre)

According to the online dictionary, a slapstick is "a stick or lath used by harlequins, clowns, etc., as inpantomime, for striking other performers, esp. acombination of laths that make a loud, clapping noisewithout hurting the person struck." In film, a slapstick comedy (heavily implemented in the early 1920s through the 1940s) was a style of film that over exaggerated emotions of the body or face. According to filmreference.com, "Slapstick is a descendent of the comic routines of Italian commedia dell'arte (mid-fifteenth to mid-seventeenth century) touring players, who developed basic plot scenarios and broad, swiftly drawn characters"
Because the films of this era lacked an advancement in sound, the actors used their bodies to clearly show the events they endured.
This sub-genre featured some of the most influential actors known to film: Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton are just to mention a few. In these films, the actors heavily exaggerated their physical reactions because it made it much easier for the audience to connect to the film's gags and narrative. Actors hit each other continuously with "great audible effect," however, little physical harm was caused. This style of film is commonly used in many of today's films such as: There's Something About Mary, "Me, Myself,and Irene", and Disney animation films. Slapstick really changed the viewer's perspective on a humorous situation, and as a viewer, one can easily trace the similarities between then and now in this minor sub-genre.

"Slapstick Comedy - Film, Cinema." Film Reference. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. .