Awful Wedded Life: Difference between revisions

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"Take my wife. Please!"

A species of Dom Com based on the premise that monogamous marriage is rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whose maleficent clutches escape is impossible. Husbands are child-like buffoons who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, ogle hot women, and forget anniversaries. Wives are frigid, nagging, hateful shrews with zero interest in sex. Chil dren destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. Obnoxious In-Laws serve to add to the misery. The audience may be left wondering, "Why don't they just get a divorce, if they're so miserable?"

Married... with Children was probably the first time this trope was seen on American television, but it's been a mainstay of British shows since The Fifties.

The name, for those who don't get it, is a reference to the line of the traditional wedding vows, "Lawful wedded life."

Examples of Awful Wedded Life include:

Comedy

Too often a source of jokes in stand-up comedy.

Comic Strips

The Lockhorns, though thankfully the eponymous couple apparently doesn't have kids.
For Better or For Worse since going into reprints/new-runs seems to spend a lot of time dwelling on how John is an insensitive dolt and the children have nothing better to do than make Elly's life harder. Perversely, the strip also implies that anyone who doesn't settle down and live the same kind of life is irresponsible, childish and a bad person.

Live-Action TV

The form reached its pinnacle of perfection in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
The King of Queens
Mad About You became this in the later years.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The husband is the frigid one, but Married... with Children fits otherwise.
Home Improvement occasionally slipped into this.
As did Family Matters.
Til Death is somewhat of a Deconstruction in that the better you know Joy, the slobbier she seems, and the better a match for Eddie.
My Family
Keeping Up Appearances -- Poor Richard deserves a sainthood for putting up with Hyacinth for all those years.
Any time a married couple is seen in The Benny Hill Show, it falls square into this.

Western Animation

Done in plenty of old cartoons -- examples include Porky's Romance, Donald's Diary, and His Bitter Half.

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 A species of [[Dom Com]] based on the premise that monogamous marriage is rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whose maleficent clutches escape is impossible. Husbands are [[Bumbling Dad|child-like buffoons]] who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, [[All Men Are Perverts|ogle hot women]], and forget anniversaries. Wives are frigid, nagging, [[Jerkass|hateful shrews]] with [[All Women Are Prudes|zero interest in sex]]. [[Kids Are Cruel|Chil]][[Teens Are Monsters|dren]] destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. [[Obnoxious In-Laws]] serve to add to the misery. The audience may be left wondering, [[Just Eat Gilligan|"Why don't they just get a divorce, if they're so miserable?"]]
-''[[Married With Children]]'' was probably the first time this trope was seen on American television, but it's been a mainstay of [[British Telly Tropes|British shows]] since [[The Fifties]].
+''[[Married... with Children]]'' was probably the first time this trope was seen on American television, but it's been a mainstay of [[British Telly Tropes|British shows]] since [[The Fifties]].
 The name, for those who don't get it, is a reference to the line of the traditional wedding vows, "Lawful wedded life."
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 == Comic Strips ==
-* ''[[The Lockhorns (Comic Strip)|The Lockhorns]]'', though thankfully the eponymous couple apparently doesn't have kids.
+* ''[[The Lockhorns]]'', though thankfully the eponymous couple apparently doesn't have kids.
-* ''[[For Better or For Worse (Comic Strip)|For Better or For Worse]]'' since going into reprints/new-runs seems to spend a lot of time dwelling on how John is an insensitive dolt and the children have nothing better to do than make Elly's life harder. Perversely, the strip ''also'' implies that anyone who doesn't settle down and live the same kind of life is irresponsible, childish and a bad person.
+* ''[[For Better or For Worse]]'' since going into reprints/new-runs seems to spend a lot of time dwelling on how John is an insensitive dolt and the children have nothing better to do than make Elly's life harder. Perversely, the strip ''also'' implies that anyone who doesn't settle down and live the same kind of life is irresponsible, childish and a bad person.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 * ''[[Mad About You]]'' became this in the later years.
 * ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]''
-* The husband is the frigid one, but ''[[Married With Children]]'' fits otherwise.
+* The husband is the frigid one, but ''[[Married... with Children]]'' fits otherwise.
-* ''[[Home Improvement (TV)|Home Improvement]]'' occasionally slipped into this.
+* ''[[Home Improvement]]'' occasionally slipped into this.
 * As did ''[[Family Matters]]''.
 * ''[[Til Death]]'' is somewhat of a [[Deconstruction]] in that the better you know Joy, the slobbier she seems, and the better a match for Eddie.
-* ''[[My Family (TV)|My Family]]''
+* ''[[My Family]]''
 * ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]'' -- Poor Richard deserves a sainthood for putting up with Hyacinth for all those years.
 * Any time a married couple is seen in ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'', it falls square into this.