# Drama? Comedy? Misclassification of movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305 "2011-09-14T16:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/1 "2011-09-14T16:36:58Z")
Okay, **The Beaver** and **Everything Must Go** are classified as comedies, but are they really? The first deals with a depressed man who can barely function until he takes a beaver hand puppet from a Dumpster and uses it to talk. The second is about a man who loses his house, wife, and job and goes back to drinking–he’s an alcoholic–and has to pick himself up after discarding most of his stuff from his previous life. Aside from a few funny lines or situations here and there, these strike me more as serious dramas than comedies. The fact that the second film features Will Ferrell does not make it a comedy, either. And then there’s **Little Miss Sunshine** , which has many funny moments but also a real streak of melancholy; also, a character dies, while others deal with depression, attempted suicide, failure and disappointment. It was marketed as a comedy. What are some other films that seem to be placed in the wrong category? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/2 "2011-09-14T16:55:01Z")
I believe the appropriate term is “dramedy.” Almost any movie can be made to look like it’s something else with [a bit of creative editing](http://mashable.com/2010/04/04/recut-youtube-movie-trailers/). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/3 "2011-09-14T17:16:16Z")
Hollywood tends to market anything that can’t be easily categorized as a comedy. This is especially true of films that have both comic and dramatic elements. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/4 "2011-09-14T17:47:37Z")
Sex and The City (show and movies) are classified as comedies. Even if I’m being generous, those aren’t funny. Even their fans will admit that they aren’t comedies first and foremost, or even 2nd and 3rd most. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/5 "2011-09-14T17:54:40Z")
Back when video stores abounded o’er the land, I’d always see where the SUPERMAN movie happened to be stacked: sometimes in the Sci-Fi section, sometimes in the Action/Adventure section, sometimes in the Kids section, sometimes in the Drama section; I’m not actually sure there’s a right answer. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/6 "2011-09-14T17:58:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Hollywood tends to market anything that can’t be easily categorized as a comedy. This is especially true of films that have both comic and dramatic elements. Even more true if the movie stars an actor famous for doing comedy. Unless it’s deadly serious, they’ll say it’s a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/7 "2011-09-14T18:01:17Z")
You do know that comedy doesn’t mean funny right? ETA, I guess maybe it does now. I was going from the classic definition: (Performing Arts / Theatre) (in classical literature) a play in which the main characters and motive triumph over adversity So, NVM ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/8 "2011-09-14T18:56:23Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Sex and The City (show and movies) are classified as comedies. Even if I’m being generous, those aren’t funny. Even their fans will admit that they aren’t comedies first and foremost, or even 2nd and 3rd most. It would never occur to me to classify Sex and the City as anything other than a comedy, and I find both the show and the movies very funny. That said, I recently listened to Ridley Scott’s commentary on his movie _Matchstick Men_, a story about a con man with OCD and his relationship with his daughter. Scott went on and on about how much he enjoyed directing a comedy, and how hard he worked to bring out the comic elements of the story. I guess it really is in the eye of the beholder. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/9 "2011-09-14T19:43:43Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > It would never occur to me to classify Sex and the City as anything other than a comedy, and I find both the show and the movies very funny. > > That said, I recently listened to Ridley Scott’s commentary on his movie _Matchstick Men_, a story about a con man with OCD and his relationship with his daughter. Scott went on and on about how much he enjoyed directing a comedy, and how hard he worked to bring out the comic elements of the story. I guess it really is in the eye of the beholder. I thought it was quite funny, actually. 🙂 Dark, sure, but funny. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/10 "2011-09-14T19:53:13Z")
**The Truman Show Eternal Sushine of the Spotless Mind Man on the Moon** All Jim Carrey, and you can catch them in all the “Comedy” section at my local video. “Dramedy” and “Tragicomedy”… they are my favorite genres. **Saving Private Ryan** was too much for me, flat-out Comedy movies are just silly. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/11 "2011-09-14T20:08:53Z")
> [@](#): > > ETA, I guess maybe it does now. I was going from the classic definition: > > (Performing Arts / Theatre) (in classical literature) a play in which the main characters and motive triumph over adversity By that measure, _Schindler’s List_ is a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/12 "2011-09-14T21:59:38Z")
Muriel’s Wedding was in the comedy section at Blockbuster when we rented it years ago. It was one of the most depressing movies my wife and I had ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/13 "2011-09-14T22:42:59Z")
_The Science of Sleep_ was marketed as a whimsical romantic comedy with fantasy elements. It’s actually a very sad examination of a young schizophrenic man’s futile attempts to function in society. The “whimsical fantasy” parts are his delusions - and they’re genuinely funny and charming - but the majority of the movie deals with how his inability to distinguish reality from fantasy is destroying his life, and making him a toxic presence to those around him. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/14 "2011-09-14T23:31:48Z")
Don’t pay much attention to how things were shelved in video stores – the categorization was decided upon by people who never saw the film and were going by the box blurbs. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/15 "2011-09-14T23:41:39Z")
**Truly, Madly, Deeply.** I first saw it in the theater, and wept copiously. I was surprised some years later, when I went to a video store, to find it in comedy. Now I can see the funny parts of it and laugh, but at the time, it expressed every heartbreak I had ever had. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/16 "2011-09-15T00:29:14Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > It would never occur to me to classify Sex and the City as anything other than a comedy, and I find both the show and the movies very funny. > > That said, I recently listened to Ridley Scott’s commentary on his movie _Matchstick Men_, a story about a con man with OCD and his relationship with his daughter. Scott went on and on about how much he enjoyed directing a comedy, and how hard he worked to bring out the comic elements of the story. I guess it really is in the eye of the beholder. If they made me categorize SaTC, I’d sooner call it a soap opera. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/17 "2011-09-15T00:55:24Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > And then there’s **Little Miss Sunshine** , which has many funny moments but also a real streak of melancholy; also, a character dies, while others deal with depression, attempted suicide, failure and disappointment. It was marketed as a comedy. I’d call it a black comedy. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/18 "2011-09-15T02:08:38Z")
Sideways and About Schmidt were advertised as comedies. I thought Sideways was a pretty good movie, but I did not think it was funny. About Schmidt was neither very good or funny. The only saving grace from About Schmidt was that it was mostly filmed withing walking distance of where I live. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/19 "2011-09-15T02:47:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Don’t pay much attention to how things were shelved in video stores – the categorization was decided upon by people who never saw the film and were going by the box blurbs. Which is why I love Netfix. Video stores never had shelves just for “Understated Coming-of-age 20th Century Period Pieces” or “Cerebral Whistleblower Documentaries.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305/20 "2011-09-15T06:06:35Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Which is why I love Netfix. Video stores never had shelves just for “Understated Coming-of-age 20th Century Period Pieces” or “Cerebral Whistleblower Documentaries.” Netflix isn’t perfect. “Creepy '80s Horror Films” showed up as a channel on my account recently. Right in the middle of it? [Haunted Honeymoon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091178/). Now, it does feature Dom DeLuise in a dress, but I still wouldn’t exactly classify it as a horror film. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drama-comedy-misclassification-of-movies/596305.md?page=2)