Asian Drama: The Modern Screwball Comedy

     I love Asian dramas and they take up the largest percentage of what I watch. I am often asked why I like Asian dramas so much and I never really could figure that out myself. While watching a movie with a friend it suddenly hit me. Asian dramas are very similar to classic screwball comedies. I had never noticed this before but it made sense because screwball is one of my favorite film genres. Below I have listed all the plot points commonly found in the genre accompanied by a movie and drama that best represent the element.








      Highly improbable situations are a common plot point in both dramas and screwball comedies-forced cohabitation, fake marriages/relationships, and so on.







      A man’s dull life is enlivened by the ghosts of a rich and carefree couple








      A rich businessman and a poor stuntwoman become entangled in each other’s lives after they switch bodies.








        Exaggerated physical comedy is exhibited in many screwball films and dramas. I find that Japanese dramas use slapstick most often, their comedies usually being a bit more silly and over the top but just as delightful as classic screwball.








       A beautiful con artist targets a naive and rich man only to unexpectedly fall for him.








      Chiaki Shinchi is an arrogant and talented musician whose life is thrown into disarray when he meets Nodame, a gifted pianist who has an unusual approach to music and life.









        Talking a mile a minute and exchanging barbs at lightning speeds, these elements are my favorite part of screwball films. Asian dramas are also ripe with this screwball form of communication, usually between a pair of individuals who have yet to admit their real feelings to one another.








     An editor sets out to sabotage the wedding plans of a famous reporter who also happens to be his ex-wife.








       Kim Sam Soon is a baker who always speaks her mind. She begins working at a restaurant and constantly finds herself butting heads with the owner.







       Classic screwball plots usually featured a rich female lead and a less well off male lead, this was done to put the couple on a more even playing field. Also, a lot of screwball films were made during the Great Depression and the rich were often portrayed in a somewhat negative light to appease the poorer movie-goers. In contrast, most Asian dramas feature the reverse due to the popular “Cinderella” fantasy.







       Irene Bullock is a ditzy heiress who decides to hire a homeless man named Godfrey as her new butler.







       Geum Jan Di receives a swimming scholarship to prestigious Shinhwa High School after rescuing a suicidal student. She eventually clashes with the F4, the richest and best looking guys in the school, becoming the target of their bullying. She fights back and the members of the F4 began to change their ways. A romantic triangle forms between Jan Di, Goo Jun Pyo (leader of the F4) and Yoon Ji Hoo (member of the F4 and Jun Pyo’s best friend).








        The central focus of most screwball comedies and Asian dramas is usually a confident and strong female character who is not afraid to argue her point or let her opinion be known.








       Two feuding journalists with vastly different backgrounds, personalities and interests fall in love.









        Anna Jo is a cold and rude heiress who inspires fear in all around her, especially her meek mannered husband. He eventually has had enough and asks for a divorce, prompting Anna to get drunk and go sailing. She falls overboard and awakens in a hospital with no memory. A handyman that she has verbally and physically abused decides to take revenge by making her think that they are in a relationship.







         This plot element can be viewed as a farcical situation but it happens so regularly in dramas (usually gender benders) that I thought it deserved it’s own section.







       Two musicians disguise themselves as women to hide from gangsters after witnessing a murder.







       Go Eun Chan is a tomboy who works multiple jobs to support her family. After losing her jobs, she is hired by Choi Han Gyul to pretend to be his gay lover to avoid blind dates. He then hires her to work at his all male staffed coffee shop. Things become complicated when they both began falling for each other.







        Sometimes two people who are completely different end up being completely perfect for one another.









       Vivacious heiress Susan Vance needs to deliver a tame leopard named ‘Baby’ to her aunt and persuades a timid paleontologist to accompany her after mistaking him for a zoologist.








       Yoo Eun Jae, a die hard Blue Seagulls fan and bodyguard, is forced to protect Park Moo Yul, a player for the rival team The Red Dreamers, following a drunken incident at a karaoke club.










          In dramas and screwballs hate very easily turns to love. The more two people argue and fight, the more madly in love with each other they really are.







      A spoiled heiress marries against her family’s wishes and runs away when they want it annulled. She encounters a reporter who promises to help her travel to meet her new husband if she gives him the exclusive on her story.








       Seo Jung In is abandoned by her husband on their wedding day after he learns of her parents financial ruin. She and her family are then forced to depend on the kindness of their former driver (Kang Man Bok), who invites them into his home. Jung In slowly forms a relationship with Man Bok’s grandson Hyun Su, which starts off as tumultuous but later turns to love.









          Past relationships being renewed is a common theme in both screwballs and dramas. Screwball films reflected the changing moral views and often featured a married couple who separate or divorce but later reconcile.







       Tom and Gerry are a married couple whose relationship has deteriorated due to financial issues, causing them to separate. Gerry takes off to Palm Beach where she encounters an eccentric millionaire who instantly falls for her but Tom wants her back.






      
      Ren Guang Xi is a selfish and arrogant college student whose life changes when he meets Liang Mu Cheng. They fall in love but their happiness doesn’t last after a tragic occurrence causes Guang Xi to lose his memory.





        That’s my run down of the similarities between Asian dramas and classic screwball comedies. I highly recommend checking out all the films mentioned. Although older they are still a fun experience.