Romantic Comedy & Romantic Drama. But can you say Romantic Comedy Drama?

[ILove2Write]

So, I wrote a Romantic script that has a lot of comedy in it, but it also has a lot of drama. How would I pitch this in a query? Should I just pick either Romantic Comedy or Romantic Drama and forget about the other until they can read it for themselves?

[jennifer75]

So, I wrote a Romantic script that has a lot of comedy in it, but it also has a lot of drama. How would I pitch this in a query? Should I just pick either Romantic Comedy or Romantic Drama and forget about the other until they can read it for themselves?
Romantic Dramedy.

[Jersey Chick]

Rats - Jennifer beat me to it...

**sigh**

[Monaco]

Each comedy should have enough drama in it, so my guess would be a Romantic Comedy.

[LIVIN]

Romantic Dramedy.

I'll co-sign that.

[zeprosnepsid]

Yeah, it's a Dramedy. That's actually what it's called. Like American Beauty or Steel Magnolias or something.

[Buddikins]

Yeah, it's a Dramedy. That's actually what it's called. Like American Beauty or Steel Magnolias or something.

Really? I learnt something new today :)
I would have said Light Drama or something, if you werent comfortable calling it a Comedy.

[Raghu]

Romdrady

:):):)

[Jon-Luke]

Its true there is such a thing as Dramedy here's the Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramedy

[ILove2Write]

Interesting ok. So if the agent accepts Romantic Comedy or Romantic Drama then I should have no problem sending something that says... "I have just finished a Romantic Dramedy called..."

?

[Jon-Luke]

Hmmm. I dunno.

If you Google Romantic Dramedy it comes up with about 2 results and asks if you meant Romantic Comedy. So I don't know exactly how accepted the term "Dramedy" is.

I think its better to market it as a Drama. Good Drama should have Romance, Tragedy, Comedy, Suspence and as many other good story telling elements as possible. Some people may disagree with me but if you look at a film like "Forest Gump" which I would consider a good Drama it obviously contains elements of Romance and Comedy as well.

Just a side note; the IMDB classifies Forest Gump as a Romance / Drama / Comedy but various other sites tend to classify it as a drama and I guess this is part of your dilemma. Never the less in my opinion I think using the term "Drama" is the safest.

[clockwork]

Each comedy should have enough drama in it, so my guess would be a Romantic Comedy.

I'd echo this. I think it's a given that romantic comedies contain drama. The natural interlaced highs and lows of drama and comedy in Four Weddings and a Funeral et al isn't unusual, it's just good storytelling at work. What romantic comedy is all humour all the time?

I'm sure 'dramedy' is a term some people use but I don't think I could bring myself to say it without grimacing. I'd say 'romantic comedy' or, if I really felt the need to mention the drama I'd say it's a 'romantic comedy drama.' Even that seems less goofy to me.

I know there are a lot of different film-making styles these days but I always ask myself, "What shelf would you find this on at Blockbuster?" They don't have a 'Romantic Dramedy' section as far as I'm aware and in my experience, the industry tends to operate on simpler ways of classifying these things.

:Shrug:

VMMV

[ILove2Write]

I agree that Dramedy sounds strange, but...now I'm really confused as to what I should do! Some people say romantic comedy, others say romantic drama. My script has a lot of comedy in the beginning and middle, but its ending is pure drama with a lesser comedy aspect.

[zeprosnepsid]

I hold to the fact that while it's not a shelf in Blockbuster, anyone who works in the industry will know what a Dramedy is.

But from the sound of it, you're better off with Romantic Comedy than Romantic Drama. Because Romantic Drama to me says like weepie. Like The Notebook. I think you can go Romantic Comedy but try to infer in your logline that it dramas up a bit in the end.