Response for First Half of 'Irony of Fate'

My interest in Russian culture, as well as my love of film has lead me to this class with an open mind and readiness for exposure to films from this country full of similarities and differences from my own. In “Irony of Fate”, a New Year’s staple for Russian families, is essentially a “comedy of errors”, in which a man, engaged to be married, becomes drunk and is accidentally shoved onto a plane by his friends, sending him to Leningrad and waltzing into, what he believes to be, his own home. The misunderstandings continue from there in an almost half comedic, half serious film progression. The comedic side comes from the audience knowing things that the characters do not, such as the Doctor’s true address, why he is there, who actually is meant to get on the plane, with these scenarios being the definition of Irony, hence the title. However, the film has serious aspects to it as well, such as the boyfriend Ippolit leaving furiously, the doctor’s girlfriend not giving him time to explain, leading to a sort of tragedy for the two main characters. This style of comedy, the comedy of errors in which characters make actions based on false assumptions and pretenses while the audience knows the truth, being more a style of American Theater, as opposed to American comedic film, which usually focuses on the Romantic Comedy genre or the Suspended Adolescence style of comedy.