History Main / FirstLawOfTragicomedies

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' when a comedic moment happens in the middle of the dramatic battle against the BigBad. When the funny is over, a character breaks the FourthWall to explain that the show had gotten a little ''too'' dramatic, so the funny moment had to happen.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' veers sharply into drama after episode sixteen, presses that throttle down, and then abruptly releases it for the last three episodes... only to slam it back down for its ending. Viewers were sharply divided.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' does a good job with this once the CerebusSyndrome kicks in, with the heavily dramatic moments more or less balanced out by comedic moments.
* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' had Ed and Ein do a quick fade any time the plot took a dark turn -- their presence equaled comedy. [[spoiler:[[ShooOutTheClowns They left the show two episodes before the]] BittersweetEnding.]]

* ''Manga/DGrayMan'' starts out a mix of comedy and drama with a healthy dash of horror thrown in. The comedy has been disappearing fast with only a few lighter hearted moments thrown in that are quickly squashed by the next horrible event.

* Notably averted in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', the classic Giffen-[=DeMatteis=] run, with the story arc "Breakdowns." As the name might suggest, "Breakdowns" was one of the darkest times in the entire history of the Justice League, in any of its incarnations. It was also hysterically funny.

* ''Film/{{Click}}'', an Creator/AdamSandler movie, fits this trope to a T. It starts out as a film with a guy who uses a magical remote to see a jogger's boobs jiggle in slow-mo, and begins a little more dramatic when he accidentally jumps one year ahead, but still had plenty of comedy. When he jumps ahead, he's there corporeally, but not mentally, he's basically zoned out, on "auto-pilot", so his social life falls apart, but for some reason he's a great architect. Then he jumps ten years into the future, where his wife left him, and he's severely overweight. It just goes straight into drama, leaving comedy in the dust when [[spoiler: he jumps past his father's death, and then comes into his own]]. But then say hello to comedy after the climax [[spoiler: it was AllJustADream, or it was time traveled away, take your pick]].
* ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam''
* ''Film/InBruges'', although the tragic elements are there from the beginning, and there is still a bit of BlackComedy left towards the end.
* ''Film/JojoRabbit'': The film gets ever-so-gradually less farcical until [[spoiler: the death of Rosie]] shoves the movie into something more like a straightforward war drama with some jokes.
* ''Film/ThirdStar'' is hilarious throughout, despite having [[BlackComedy very dark subject matter]] but in the last half hour everything starts to go horribly wrong.
* ''Film/DoTheRightThing'': While not a total comedy, the film features many slice of life comedic moments peppered between racial tensions... [[spoiler: before a giant riot occurs over the death of a local black youth. Trash can flying ensues]].
* The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' with Richard Harris does this amazingly well. The movie starts out as a light-hearted comedy, then very gradually gets darker leading to an inevitable, heart-wrenching conclusion. The high point is Burton/Arthur's reprisal of the lighthearted title song from the beginning, now sung dramatically, and his agony at the line, "For one brief shining moment!"
* ''Film/TheCableGuy'': the comedy begins zany and gets progressively darker, until the film becomes something of a psychological thriller with jokes. Audiences at the time were famously unprepared for such a dark turn from Creator/JimCarrey.
* The soundtrack for ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' is divided into two "acts" precisely because of this trope - it starts out rather sunnily, but begins to move down a darker path as Edward falls in love with Kim (and rejects Joyce's advances). Once Edward participates in the house robbery, the comedy gradually drains from the film altogether.
* ''[[Film/Parasite2019 Parasite]]'': The first two-thirds of the movie are a comedic farce about the poor Kim family ingratiating themselves with the [[UpperClassTwit rich but ignorant]] Park family. However, when [[spoiler:the previous maid that the Kims got fired comes back and their apartment gets flooded, the story starts to take a much more serious turn and resolves in what's largely a DownerEnding.]]
* ''Film/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf'' (a fairly faithful adaptation of an Creator/EdwardAlbee play of the same name) fits this. One troper has described it as "a movie that starts out as a dark comedy then gets darker and darker until it's not even a comedy any more." There are still ''jokes'' all the way through, but they get increasingly nasty and bitter.
* ''Film/TropicThunder'', of all movies, has all three lead characters be crippled by questions of identity and self-worth while the climax is going down. It doesn't last too long, but it's very strange for a wacked-out Ben Stiller farce which earlier on had the lead character wearing a panda's head like a hat.
* The majority of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' is played for comedy, but it becomes dramatic towards the end with the whale hunters and the return to the future. The beginning of the film when the probe reaches Earth and the crew heads back in time is also played mostly seriously.
* ''Film/StrangerThanFiction''. [[NeverTrustATrailer The trailer lied]].
* While the book doesn't fit this trope, and the film is pretty [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynical]] overall, ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'''s film adaptation was rather lighthearted for the first 53 minutes. [[spoiler:Then Luckman collapses.]] Things get progressively darker after that.
* Inverted by ''Film/BeingThere'', which begins with serious scenes of a developmentally delayed man being evicted from his home when his employer dies, but it quickly turns to comedy once the main character is on his own.
* ''Film/TheRoom2003'' actually follows this pretty rigidly. The first half is mostly baffling moments of comedy and meandering subplots, while the second half cuts away all the subplots in favour of the main infidelity storyline, before the protagonist is DrivenToSuicide. (Though it's [[SoBadItsGood so badly acted]] that even the dramatic parts are unintentionally funny.)
* ''Film/GingerSnaps'' starts off as an amusing dark comedy about two sisters obsessed with death and their curt reactions to the world around them, with Ginger's first period driving a number of comedic bits (their mother's celebratory strawberry cake, the over enthusiastic nurse, etc.). Once the BodyHorror gets going, though, and bodies start piling up, the comedy slowly fades away, and by [[TearJerker the end]] absolutely no one's laughing.
* ''Film/{{Underground}}'' gets less comedic and more tragic as it goes on, though it has both throughout.
* ''Film/BicentennialMan'': The film starts with the comedic antics of a (LiteralMinded) RobotButler and explores the potential character depth available to said robot. However, a HalfwayPlotSwitch to RomanticComedy turns the primary conflict into making Portia happy. Because the World Congress determines if Andrew is human enough to marry Portia, whenever they appear on-screen the comedic elements disappear entirely.
* ''Film/WithnailAndI'' is a barrel of laughs, but [[spoiler: it ends on a firmly bittersweet note that's much more bitter than it is sweet.]]
* ''Film/SingStreet'' is already a dramedy about teens starting a rock band, but the tone becomes more serious when [[spoiler:Conor's parents decide to split]].

** Since the novel continually re-visits previous events, it contains a lot of things that are initially humorous, then tragic as they are explained. A good example would be [[spoiler: the dead man in Yossarian's tent.]]

** This eventually reached the point where the trailers of ''[[Film/HarryPotter Harry Potter]]'' movies strikingly resemble a preview of a horror film.
* ''Literature/EverythingIsIlluminated''. It's rather pronounced in the [[FilmOfTheBook film]].

** That said, there was plenty of serious stuff early on -- take "Sometimes You Hear The Bullet." The main difference is in the (dis)integration of the elements rather than the amount of either: in the early days comedy and tragedy often happened back-to-back in the same situation, whereas in later years episodes would often feature distinct "funny" and "serious" plotlines.

* Creator/TylerPerry's ''Series/HouseOfPayne'' has a tendency towards this which changes depending on which character is in the spotlight at the moment.
* In a two-part arc on ''Series/BarneyMiller'', department policy and the stringpulling of Inspector Luger cause the 12th precinct to be converted into a homicide division. At first it's the occasion for slightly darker than usual gags about murder. Then a gruff shopkeeper is killed after Barney had had to turn him away before because his case didn't involve homicide. That largely stops the comedy until TheDenouement in which the squad is reassigned to a lighter felony.

* Defied on ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend''. Petty or comedic situations happen along side the dire ones. Managing the two in tandem ties into the show's themes surrounding mental health and relationship boundaries.

* ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' fits this law, though [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors the film adaptation]] does not.
* ''Theatre/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead''.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] by [[JustForFun/TheZerothLawOfTropeExamples William Shakespeare's]] ''Theatre/TheWintersTale'', one of the earliest tragicomedies. The first half is a gloomy, melodramatic, and heartbreaking tragedy of a king who wrongfully suspects his wife of infidelity. Then a guy gets [[BearsAreBadNews eaten by a bear]], and it becomes a pastoral romantic comedy.

* Up until Act III, and aside from the opening, ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' is essentially a RomanticComedy.
* The musical ''[[Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix 1776]]'' follows a similar arc. It begins comedically, then darkens; and while it has a happy ending, it has to travel through some very dark territory to get there.

* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' starts off as a BlackComedy, though the end is not very funny.

* ''Theatre/{{Carousel}}'' begins as a period-flavored romantic comedy, but gradually develops into a tragic romance.
* The theatrical version of Disney's ''Theatre/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' becomes one of these. Most of the play follows the movie's plot with comedy sprinkled around (although the comedic gargoyles are removed.) Then, unlike the movie, [[spoiler:Esmeralda dies.]] Then [[spoiler:Quasimodo throws Frollo to his death.]] Then (depending on the production), [[spoiler:Quasimodo takes Esmeralda's body into Notre Dame's crypt to die alone with her.]] So its a tad bit more depressing to say the least.

* While ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' is mostly a very funny game there are some grim moments breaking through the facade. While before this is mostly cruelty against minor characters, this falls back on Conker himself in the ending. [[spoiler:After all the time Conker was searching for his girlfriend, he finally finds her only to lose her, perhaps even twice: Not only does she seem quite aloof and not very happy to see him, she also dies at the end. Afterwards, he gets a chance to wish her back to life, but just momentarily forgets about her. In the end he is "King of all the lands", but ultimately without any of the happiness that his wealth could otherwise afford him. He gives an epic monologue on materialism ending with "The grass is always greener, and you don't really know what it is you have until it's gone...gone...gone...". At the end we see him in the Tavern again, alone and drinking, afterwards waggling off in an uncertain future]] It's only ''slightly'' better than the original planned ending where [[spoiler:Conker shoots himself]].

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' tends to be especially obvious with this trope.
** Subverted in [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010309 this]] strip when Riff makes a wisecrack while fighting K'Z'K, a demon who has [[DemonicPossession possessed]] his ex-girlfriend Gwynn.
--->'''Zoe:''' Was that supposed to be a ''joke?'' ''This is no time for jokes!''
--->'''Riff:''' Sorry, my angst-train derailed for a minute there. ''Die, Kizke, die!''
** Also note that K'Z'K was at least once defeated by puns.
* From Chapter 5 on, every page of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' featured [[TheRant commentary]] (usually [[DeadpanSnarker quite ]][[TrollingCreator wry]]) by the author below the comic. In Chapter 16, just before the plot's excursion into PsychologicalHorror territory, the comments abruptly stopped. When several fans complained about the missing commentary, Tom replied,

** Even comics with deaths of major characters (such as [[spoiler: the deaths of [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0443.html Roy]] and [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html Miko]]]]) contain at least one humorous line.

* ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'' also plays this trope straight. The first few chapters showed a superhero treating crime-fighting like a regular 9-to-5 job, and his super-powered daughter trying to be a normal high school student. Then we get a flashback into Jane's past, and all of a sudden her boss is pure evil and her best friend gets killed. More recent chapters have lightened up and brought back the comedy.
* Present in ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl''; [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} David]] is seldom around when things get bad.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' plays around with this. At the beginning, it's a zany story about a somewhat dimwitted nerdy kid running around his house doing random things with his quirky clown-obsessed father while his friend manipulated his house through a computer game, to his dismay. Then it turns out the game is an ArtifactOfDoom bringing about the apocalypse, but the comic still stays funny. Fast-forward a few Acts, and the ComedicSociopath PunchClockVillain with a distaste for the silly costumes his superiors make him wear has become a monster who massacres countless {{Redshirt}}s. That's pretty dark, but there are still plenty of jokes to be heard. Eventually, though, major characters start [[AnyoneCanDie dropping like flies]], and there's often very little humor for long stretches. However, even when things are extremely serious, the comic often delights in [[BlackComedy treating them like jokes]], and its moments of genuine lightheartedness never go away completely, coming back especially in force at the beginning of Act 6. (Not that this puts a damper on the seriousness at all)
** This has given rise to the meme of "MS Pain Adventures", an edited image deliberately ramping up the grimdark by putting the main characters on a battlefield drenched with blood, as well another of the words "Kids and Fun!" pasted over scenes of death and destruction.
** The climax, [S]: Collide, shows the heroes facing against all of the major villains... alongside Karkat's battle against the InvincibleMinorMinion Clover.

* ''Literature/TheSagaOfTuck'' also follows this to a T: when [[spoiler: Tuck is beaten and left near death StuffedIntoALocker, all the cracking wise grinds to a halt until he's out of the hospital]]. This annoyed a few fans who accused it of CerebusSyndrome.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' on the "Holly Jolly Secrets" episode. We're learning [[TheReveal the big secret]] revealing [[spoiler: a recurring antagonist, [[TheSociopath the Ice King]], as a TragicVillain]]. Literally right after this, Jake tries to humorously say, "drama booomb~!" but the comedy is just not there, not for the audience or any other characters. The rest of the episode following that has at least one other joke, and it's mixed in with what is supposed to be an odd mix of tragedy and heartwarming.

* ''Film/TheRoom'' actually follows this pretty rigidly. The first half is mostly baffling moments of comedy and meandering subplots, while the second half cuts away all the subplots in favour of the main infidelity storyline, before the protagonist is DrivenToSuicide. (Though it's [[SoBadItsGood so badly acted]] that even the dramatic parts are unintentionally funny.)

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' plays this pretty straight, with the funnier moments and musical numbers concentrated more in the first half while the harder drama comes into play more in the second half. Ironically, PluckyComicRelief character Olaf doesn't show up until the halfway point, which explains why his comedy is more limited than the [[NeverTrustATrailer trailers]] would have you believe. He does help counteract the increased seriousness of the main characters at that point, however. Even some of his comedy is actually BlackComedy.

* [[{{Lampshading}} Lampshaded]] in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', when a comedic moment happens in the middle of the dramatic battle against the BigBad. When the funny is over, a character breaks the FourthWall to explain that the show had gotten a little ''too'' dramatic, so the funny moment had to happen.

* While the book doesn't fit this trope, and the film is pretty [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynical]] overall, ''Film/AScannerDarkly'''s film adaptation was rather lighthearted for the first 53 minutes. [[spoiler: Then Luckman collapses.]] Things get progressively darker after that.

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in [[http://team-mm10.tripod.com/epiloguespace.html an epilogue]] by the StylisticSuck ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'' team, ''[[http://team-mm10.tripod.com/ Aggravated Assault / Heaven's Hammarz]]''. Space is SeriousBusiness, and you're not allowed to make jokes in space, or else you'll be thrown out the airlock. Naturally, a lot of drama unfolds during the protagonists' adventure in space, although there is an odd scene of the parents of [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Vampire]] [[Manga/DragonBall Trunks]] (Sheep Babe's supposed love interest) trying to get him to marry a ham sandwich. At the climax of the story, Commando Man explains to Sheep Babe that [[spoiler:"marry" in vampire terms means [[IAmAHumanitarian to eat]], explaining the ham sandwich scene]]. He then gets thrown out the airlock despite his protest that he wasn't joking.

* ''ppFilm/Parasite2019 Parasite]]'': The first two-thirds of the movie are a comedic farce about the poor Kim family ingratiating themselves with the [[UpperClassTwit rich but ignorant]] Park family. However, when [[spoiler:the previous maid that the Kims got fired comes back and their apartment gets flooded, the story starts to take a much more serious turn and resolves in what's largely a DownerEnding.]]

* ''Film/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf'' (a fairly faithful adaptation of an Edward Albee play of the same name) fits this. One troper has described it as "a movie that starts out as a dark comedy then gets darker and darker until it's not even a comedy any more." There are still ''jokes'' all the way through, but they get increasingly nasty and bitter.

* ''Anime/DeathParade'' balances its dark themes and inherently somber setting with moments of levity, some romance, and plenty of BlackComedy. Episodes that feature the main cast during their time off are nice and breezy, and usually only serve to develop interpersonal relationships without advancing the overall plot. Since the series is somewhat episodic , the tone of certain episodes relies on the nature of their respective [[OneShotCharacter one shot characters]]. Most of these episodes are some shade of dark, but episodes 3 and 6 are notably LighterAndSofter. The latter especially stands out for its [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender slapstick shenanigans]], [[RefugeInAudacity outrageous setup]], and ''extremely'' [[GleefulAndGrumpyPairing contrasting characters]]. These episodes do very little to advance the plot and develop the main duo, however, and the episodes that ''are'' devoted to doing so are generally DarkerAndEdgier. The latter half of the series ramps up the tension as the MythArc unfolds.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' averts this by having silly moments amongst the dramatic ones; impressive in that the story of it is possibly darker than [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], which played it straight with the last batch of episodes dropping the humor altogether.

* ''Anime/DeathParade'' balances its [[AdultFear dark themes]] and [[AfterlifeTropes inherently somber setting]] with moments of levity, some romance, and plenty of BlackComedy. Episodes that feature the main cast during their time off are nice and breezy, and usually only serve to develop interpersonal relationships without advancing the overall plot. Since the series is somewhat episodic , the tone of certain episodes relies on the nature of their respective [[OneShotCharacter one shot characters]]. Most of these episodes are some shade of dark, but episodes 3 and 6 are notably LighterAndSofter. The latter especially stands out for its [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender slapstick shenanigans]], [[RefugeInAudacity outrageous setup]], and ''extremely'' [[GleefulAndGrumpyPairing contrasting characters]]. These episodes do very little to advance the plot and develop the main duo, however, and the episodes that ''are'' devoted to doing so are generally DarkerAndEdgier. The latter half of the series ramps up the tension as the MythArc unfolds.