One Upping (or one-upmanship) in comedy scenes and sketches
In my Xmas/ New year comedy writing course, one of the group nominated this scene from Bridesmaids which led to us working on one-upping as a technique.
Bridesmaids (Engagement Toast Scene)
Comedy Technique: The scene is a prime example of the comedy tool one-upping or one-upmanship, where two characters try to outdo each other, in this case, through their wedding toasts.
Scene Structure:
The back-and-forth competition is allowed to build pace towards the climax.
While economy and tightness is typically prized, on the other hand comedy scenes can benefit from being long enough to breathe and allow the awkwardness to build, based around one very clear game.
Scriptwriting: The script uses short statements to make up the speeches and quick, simple stage directions to allow the reader to easily picture what is happening.
Character Roles: The happy couple and the other guests act as the reasonable, reacting characters who ground the scene by reacting to the absurdity of the competition.
I then shared this Key & Peele scene as another example of one-upping.
Key & Peele (Food Ordering Sketch)
Theme/Technique: It's another example of one-upping, but with a dynamic where two characters are more evenly matched and compete to prove who is most "in touch with their roots" through their increasingly ridiculous food orders.
Grounding Character: The Waitress serves as the reasonable, reacting character who grounds the scene and is stuck between the two competing extremes.
Structural Devices:
The ending is a false dawn ending, where the climax is averted when the waitress seems ready to call out the craziness but instead asks a mundane service question (about gravy).
The sketch uses a jump forward in time (a tag on the end) for the payoff, showing the characters having to eat the ridiculous food they ordered, which ties back to the idea of an impromptu action coming back to "bite them later on."
Inspiration: It may have been inspired by the Monty Python "Four Yorkshireman" sketch, sharing the same basic dynamic of prosperous men competing over a tough upbringing, but with a fresh take.