'The Apartment' is commonly called a comedy. Is any movie with an attempted suicide in it really a comedy

Answer 1

Both Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, two of the greatest comedy film-makers in the silent era, used suicide attempt gags in some of their funniest sequences in their short films. These gags worked because the attempts were always doomed to failure in surprising ways.
The Apartment's suicide attempt is another kind of comedy; that of human drama. Had the attempt worked, it would have been a tragedy. Since the suicide was averted, and the results beneficial for the protagonists, also in a surprising way, it can be called comedic.
Very few subjects have no comedic possibilities. We are beings who laugh, and can find humor even in the darkest experiences. That is sometimes our salvation.

Answer 2

I think it depends on how the filmmaker(s) portray attempted suicide in the context of the entire film, that determines the difference between comedy and tragedy. Whether the character lives or dies can also determine it.

Aside from the attempted suicide of Shirley MacClaine's character, The Apartment stands as a comedy, in that it satirizes the plight of one man who sells his life, literally as well as figuratively, for the sake of corporate advancement.

Answer 3

"Harold And Maude" is even with several "mock suicides" done by Harold and a real one committed by "Maude." "M*A*S*H" also featured an attempted suicide; for lack of a better pigeon-hole, comedy will work.

It is sometimes a good thing to point out to people how silly killing themselves really is. However, you really need to look at the eventual message: things will get better. Most comedies featuring attempted suicides have the characters rescued by a chain of events that save them from depression.

Answer 4

In the 1960 film The Apartment Jack Lemmon plays C.C Baxter. Four different company managers take turns commandeering his apartment for their extramarital liaisons.

Baxter asks Miss Kubelik to a Broadway show. On Christmas Eve Baxter is astounded to come home and find her in his bed, fully clothed, and overdosed on sleeping pills. Kubelik recuperates in Baxter's apartment. She realizes her love for Baxter and runs to him. They end as two misfits, both out of a job, gleefully playing a game of gin rummy. The Apartment won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The tenth episode of the Seinfeld sitcom is also The Apartment. It aired on April 4, 1991. One of the story threads in this Seinfeld is that Jerry overhears the two managers of his building discussing a death.

The characters of Seinfeld were: "thirty-something singles ... with no roots, vague identities, and conscious indifference to morals." While television sitcoms to date were often family or coworker driven, the Seinfeld characters were not. In fact, many characters were not employed at all. Seinfeld is Emmy award winning.

The Academy applauded The Apartment film; and Seinfeld received award recognition. Yes, comedy can extend to suicide and death.

Answer 5

Of course! Check out "The Kurt Cobain Story", it's a gas!

Answer 6

'Dark' comedies usually deal in matters of death in one way or another.