Laugh and Cry With These Great Dramedies Streaming Now
"In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night."
The definition of the drama-comedy, or dramedy, is intentionally broad. The setting can vary wildly, like the sports world (Jerry Maguire), high school (The Breakfast Club), or Bruges, Belgium (In Bruges). Some of them lean heavily on the comedic aspects, while others just use comedy sparingly. The best dramedies are able to shift their tone effortlessly, often training their focus on a serious issue and provoking laughter in the same scene.
Our choices today do that. These three dramedies are adept at thoughtfully and humorously portraying their characters and the circumstances they find themselves in. We hope you enjoy them.
Drew recommends…
Frances Ha (streaming on Netflix)
In the middle of Frances Ha, Frances (Greta Gerwig) runs carefree through the streets of New York while David Bowie’s “Modern Love” plays on the soundtrack. Never before has living broke in your 20s looked so romantic. It’s a sublime moment in a funny, sharp-witted, and open-hearted portrait of friendship and figuring out your life at a young age.
Frances is an apprentice at a dance company in New York City and she lives with her best friend Sophie. When Sophie moves to a new apartment that Frances can’t afford, their relationship is strained, kicking off Frances’s aimless quest to try and discover her purpose.
I’m making Frances Ha sound more plot-heavy than it really is; in reality, it’s a sweet and touching film that just kind of goes at its own pace. Not too much happens in the movie, but if you’re on the same wavelength as Frances Ha, it’s a wonderful ride.
Gerwig and her now partner Noah Baumbach wrote the movie together, with Baumbach directing. Their script has little moments of levity and drama that blend like peanut butter and jelly. Baumbach shoots it in black and white, which seems like a random choice at first, until you settle in and realize it perfectly matches Frances’s persona. She may be struggling financially, professionally, and relationally, but she brings light and positivity to her life regardless. Plus, New York City just looks better in black and white.
This is one of Baumbach’s best movies (Marriage Story is probably his best), but a healthy amount of credit goes to Gerwig for making Frances Ha so damn charming and resonant. Before she went on to write and direct two of the best films of the past few years, Gerwig portrayed the awkward, bumbling, yet lovable Frances. If you’ve ever felt a little lost in your 20s, she’s more than a little relatable.
Drinking Buddies (streaming on Hulu)
I love that there are movies like Drinking Buddies out there. Here’s a very low-budget, small-stakes dramedy that is pretty fun and surprisingly emotional. Not every movie needs to feel “cinematic” in that epic widescreen way, and Drinking Buddies is fine just being a loose and low-key look at friends and lovers that work at a brewery.
Our main characters are Luke (Jake Johnson) and Kate (Olivia Wilde), co-workers at a Chicago brewery. They are both in lukewarm relationships, and at work they drink and flirt together. (Seriously, it would be much easier to count the number of times these characters don’t have a beer in front of them.) When Kate’s boyfriend breaks up with her, things get messy between her and Luke.
Drinking Buddies is one of the most notable of the indie film subgenre Mumblecore. How do you know you’re watching a Mumblecore movie? The dialogue is often improvised, the acting strives for authenticity, the budget is low, and not much actually happens in the plot. Drinking Buddies is all of these things -- it just also happens to feature a few movie and TV stars, which is very rare for a Mumblecore film. Johnson and Wilde (both excellent here) are the leads, but Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, and Jason Sudeikis make up the rest of this wonderful cast of recognizable faces.
Like most of director Joe Swanberg’s stuff (Win It All, the Netflix show Easy), Drinking Buddies is not going to be groundbreaking. It’s got some laughs and some mildly dramatic scenes. Mostly, it’s a chance to watch interesting actors perform in a very authentic style, since they don’t have dialogue written for them. In a breezy 90 minutes, Drinking Buddies is the perfect antidote when you’re tired of heavy, self-important films.
Billy recommends…
The Truman Show (streaming on Hulu)
Two-time Golden Globe winner and no-time Oscar nominee Jim Carrey as a serious actor is an obvious proposition with today’s eyes, but at the time his star power was the only thing bringing people to this far out film. To everyone’s surprise The Truman Show is absolutely fabulous and Jim Carrey gives an all-time surprise performance. He of course makes you laugh, but at the root of his performance are constant chill moments that bring the audience to potential tears.
Truman is an everyman who has been programmed that way. From birth everything around him has been choreographed and broadcasted to audiences around the world. For the first 25 or so years of his life it brought a good amount of bliss. Forced relationships seemed real and his community authentic. What has always been normal becomes erratic and unappealing. His trajectory in life once clear is now opaque. Then one day he snaps when the desire for “more” becomes too strong.
The Truman Show hits on the Jurassic Park mantra, “...so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” A commentary on the state of media and technology that only becomes more pressing day by day, allowing The Truman Show to be endlessly rewatchable because of how ahead of its time director Peter Weir and writer Andrew Niccol were. High concept ideas inside the shell of easily accessible characters.
Carrey was perfectly cast and lent his talents to a concept that lines up with his temperament at the time. A likeable charismatic actor who had the desire for more and in the end finds a way to get past what people think about him. A lesson we all have dealt with in some capacity. There is an idea of what we want to be and forces around us influencing what they think we are “supposed” to be. Creating intense conflict that drives this initially fun story straight into intense drama. Allowing The Truman Show to fit into any generation perfectly.
Streaming TV Corner
The Office Episode of the Week
Drew: “The Coup” (Season 3, Episode 3)
This early season three episode has some great Michael-Dwight scenes. After Jan gets angry that Michael has been hosting “Movie Mondays” in the office, Dwight tries to usurp Michael as manager behind his back. Michael finds out and pretends that Dwight has been named the new manager, leading to Dwight peacocking around the office and Angela quietly beaming at the development. Meanwhile, in the B-plot, Jim is working at the Stamford branch where they play Call of Duty in the office. Jim is terrible at the game, which causes Andy to hysterically freak out on him for using a sniper rifle.
“The Coup” ends with one of the show’s most memorable lines. As Dwight is shamelessly groveling on the floor to keep his job, Michael tells him they can “hug it out, bitch.”
Links to get you hyped
Ozark is back for season 3 at the end of the month! Events move to the Byrde’s new casino this time.
The first look at the Batmobile from the upcoming Robert Pattinson Batman movie, The Batman, was released. Dark and moody!