Comedy-drama movie

I’m always in the market for a solid dramedy. Putting your audience in a position to both laugh and cry all within the span of 90 minutes seems like a tall order in filmmaking that’s why I cherish a good sad film that doesn’t pile on the melodrama.

I was pretty blown away by Jim Cummings Thunder Road recently. If I had to pick an all time favorite it’d probably be good will hunting though (hard to beat Robin Williams in comedy and the man can emote too).

It used to be 130 pages. I feel like I’ve done all I can to cut it down. Is 123 pages ok?

Movies similar to Juno, Lady Bird, The Big Sick, While We're Young etc. Something that'll make me laugh and cry. Preferably with an indie style "quirkiness". Basic, and kinda pretentious, I know, but I know what I like

UK NETFLIX ONLY

I'm thrilled to share that my dramedy centering Asian American women and mental health is a Nicholl Semi-finalist! After just missing the QF in 2022, I did another rewrite and resubmitted for 2023. I'd hoped to make QF -- but never expected to make SF!

I wanted to share because this very same draft still gets notes as wide as "Where is the character arc?" to "100 percent clear on character arc." I also get notes that all the Asian women are "virtually identical." This process is so subjective, and I hope this can be encouragement for us all to keep going -- to believe in our stories and find the people who believe in it too. Cheers!

Logline: A closed-off therapist takes on her toughest client yet: someone just like her. Can she help her navigate the familial trauma they share without jeopardizing her own sanity and newfound love in the process?

I've been lurking on this subreddit for a while, and I value all the contributions and insight. So, I'm posting my Blacklist Eval (my first time using their service) in the hope that it might help someone else.

This is my third feature, but it's my first polished feature. My first two are in a locked vault never to be seen by the public but kept as a reminder of how far I've come (haha!). This is also the first feature I've written since taking a 10-year hiatus to have kids. I've also written a pilot version of this same script, several shorts, scenes for acting reels, and a stack of treatments.

I wrote this screenplay knowing that, as a low concept spec, it would be a hard sell. But I'm happy with the script, and I think it's produceable in its current state as a low-budget indie. I've gotten a ton of feedback, both paid and unpaid, and after this last revision, I registered it with WGA and copyrighted it because I was confident that any new revisions would be minor. (And I still feel that way.)

The reason I hosted and bought an eval on the Blacklist was to be able to opt-in to multiple opportunities with deadlines this summer. With such a low score, I'm feeling extremely discouraged that these opportunities are now closed to me unless I buy another eval and get lucky with the reader. It is my understanding that they only look at reviews and numbers of reads, and they may not read the actual scripts at all when they choose the short lists for these opportunities. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this.

Overall, I disagree with the weaknesses section, and I think the prospects section contradicts some of those points. I've received a lot of feedback that this script is real, truthful, genuine, poignant, etc. And I consciously wrote the characters and relationships this way. I did not rely on tropes, although I might be able to see how a reader who is looking for that may see it.

So, here it is: my 4/10 Blacklist Evaluation.

Overall: 4

Premise: 4

Plot: 3

Character: 4

Dialogue: 5

Setting: 4

Era: Present

Locations: Jacksonville, Florida

Budget: Micro

Genre: Comedy,Family Comedy,Drama,Coming-of-Age,Family Drama

Logline: After the sudden death of her husband, Marisol and her teenage daughter spend the summer in Jacksonville where they must take care of Grandma Vivian and learn how to be a family again.

Pages: 116

Strengths:

As a definite family portrayal in grief, the script successfully navigates each character arc with depth. While the mother-daughter dynamic is at the center, the plot gives thoughtful attention to our supporting characters who add humor and truth. When Marisol feels alone in her troubles as a new single mother to a rebellious teenager, Lola Vivian’s presence is a sharp reminder that her own mother has gone through the same when Marisol was a teenager. It is what the script does best: it holds up a mirror between characters as they gradually recognize the ways they are more similar than not. There is a hinted cyclical approach to our subjects as Marisol also sees her past self through Amy’s actions and Dan’s reemergence into her life. Her quiet frustrations about her own life choices turn into physical manifestations as she assaults the woman at Jollibee and burns her journals. These are painfully well-observed moments that expand on the complexities of grieving someone who didn’t support you and someone who is still alive. Her isolated persona is challenged against a community that readily embraces her and Amy. Even her own daughter recognizes the significance of finding a support group through Devon and friends. The narrative aims to challenge the values and definitions of family while also embracing the love you're given.

Weaknesses:

The depictions of the relationship between our principal characters may feel too familiar for its genre. This results in a conflict that lacks specificity and stronger stakes to motivate our actions beyond the expected. Mainly, Marisol and Amy’s confrontational nature is a broad portrayal of a typical mother-daughter dynamic. We come to expect the constant animosity between them which makes their arguments predictable and the outcome less imaginative than we hoped. Marisol questions Amy’s friendship with Devon and questions her virginity which feels inconsistent with Marisol’s progressive nature. Though this speaks to the anxieties as a now single mother, she is reduced to the protective mother role. As an multi-generational narrative, the script often neglects Lola Vivian to a plot device in order to explain Marisol’s decisions. Vivian brings a stinging sense of humor to her dire health state which creates a much-needed break from the internalized arc that Marisol subsequently overcomes. But, Vivian is placed in the backdrop without giving her a stronger arc that steps outside her conditions. In the end, the script doesn’t confront with Marisol and Nick’s perception of Vivian as an unfortunate inconvenience in their daily lives. Rather, they make decisions based on themselves which are then presented to us as a happy ending.

Prospects:

This straightforward family drama has a lot of heart and elements that makes this particular family unit standout. There are conversations about cultural legacy through Amy’s reintroduction to her Filipino heritage that feel timely and necessary. Each character is given the space to unfurl their personas in ways that feel true to who they are. The writing smoothly navigates these different dynamics while concentrating on our central conflict that Marisol embodies. However, the script plays it safe by following tropes that we come to expect from this genre which might make the overall story too familiar for executives hoping for a fresher take. As the Filipino-American community hasn’t received the inclusion it deserves on the screen, this could be a great contender in representing this diverse and complicated family.

Edited to add link to script:

I'm looking for a specific kind of movie but not sure how to describe them, they're all a little bit slow burn, dry or witty humor and there's normally a dysfunctional main character(s) that may or may not have some sort of mental illness.

Here are some I love:
Happy Christmas
Joshy
Drinking Buddies
Young Adult
Obvious Child
Other People
The Skeleton Twins
Slow Learners
Tiny Furniture
Blue Jay
Outside In

Here are some that I love but aren't quite what I'm looking for:
Brittany Runs a Marathon
The One I Love
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Creep & Creep 2
The Way Way Back
Save Yourselves!

Anyone have any recommendations?

It's imperatives that we must help each member to become successful screenwriters.

EDIT: First it was the QAnon guy now this.

Since it's only home-video release in US for this is the DVD that was put on market 20 years ago, in a copy that's out of print, and it wasn't available on streaming until now, this is HUGE news.

Probably one of the best con artist movies there it is, highly reccomend this one for my fellow Blankies!

Available on the new 30 Years of Art-House Hits: A Tribute to Sony Pictures Classics collection, which also has a lot of good stuff in there too!

Title: Another Way

Genre: Dramady

Pages: 95

Logline:

After another night of debauchery, the local drunk gets a second a chance at life when he wakes up 9 years in his past, days before the fatal crash that killed his mistress.

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Overall, just looking for a fresh set of eyes on this.

Also open to swaps, but will fore warn you Westerns/Period pieces aren't my jam.