The Bawling Game

Incest Ain't Just for Hillbillies no More

You said:

I need help writing a dark romantic comedy.  If I give you the skeleton outline, can you write the screenplay?

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

Absolutely! I'd be happy to help with the screenplay. If you provide the skeleton outline, I can start crafting scenes, dialogue, and develop the story from there. Feel free to share the outline whenever you're ready!

You said:

Ok, 2 same sex couples, one male the other female, are friends and decide to have a double wedding.   They then some time later decide to have kids at the same time.  The males adopt from a surrogate and the females opt for artificial insemination. The couples each have a baby, one boy and one girl.  They remain friends and their kids grow up together.  When the boy and girl are of age, they decide to get married.  When they apply for a wedding license, they discover they are brother and sister because the sperm used for both babies came from a 'mega donor.'  Chaos ensues after this revelation.  Throughout the film there are clues that both sets of parents should have picked up on, but they chalked it up to the families being so close.  I call the film 'the bawling game.'

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

That’s a brilliant premise! The mix of humor, awkward tension, and dramatic irony creates a perfect setting for a dark romantic comedy. Here's how we can structure it into a screenplay format:

"The Bawling Game" - Screenplay Breakdown

Act 1: Set-Up

Opening Scene – The double wedding

Show the lightheartedness of the two same-sex couples, their close friendship, and excitement over their double wedding. They are quirky, loving, and playfully bicker about the ceremony details. This sets the tone for the comedy.

Foreshadowing moment: While discussing future kids, one character jokingly mentions, "Wouldn't it be funny if they ended up together one day?" (Setting up the future irony.)

Decision to Have Kids

Fast forward to a few years later. The couples hang out in a backyard barbecue. Conversations turn toward wanting to expand their families. They decide, with excitement, to try for kids at the same time, joking about the kids growing up as best friends just like them.

The males find a surrogate. The females choose a sperm donor. They both end up selecting the same 'mega donor'—a key plot point that goes unnoticed at this stage.

Comic moment: The donor selection process could be hilarious, with the women choosing traits, and one of the guys saying, "It’s like shopping for a baby on Amazon."

Birth of the Children

Both couples welcome a boy and a girl. The new parents are overjoyed, and the babies are brought up together, treated almost like siblings from day one. Family vacations, birthdays, and holidays are all shared.

Act 2: Conflict & Clues

Growing Up Together

Show funny but oddly eerie moments of the kids' childhoods. Maybe they have the same quirky habits (both allergic to the same things, both love a specific rare food, or both have the same laugh). The parents dismiss it as "They've spent so much time together! It’s like they’re twins!"

The audience will begin to pick up on the foreshadowing, but the parents remain oblivious.

Teens Developing Feelings

As they grow older, the boy and girl start developing romantic feelings. Maybe there's an awkward moment where one of the moms sees them flirt and brushes it off with a laugh, thinking it's cute.

Comic montage: A series of missed signals where everyone is too caught up in their everyday lives to notice obvious clues. Maybe they have similar mannerisms, or a family friend remarks, “You guys look like siblings!” but everyone laughs it off.

Proposal

The boy and girl, now adults, decide to get married. The families are elated at how "perfect" everything has worked out. It’s like fate! There’s a big celebratory dinner where the parents are laughing and congratulating each other, while the couple dreams of their future.

Act 3: Chaos Ensues

The Shocking Discovery

While applying for their marriage license, a clerk casually mentions that they can’t proceed because both their birth certificates show the same sperm donor ID number. Panic!

Comic moment: The boy and girl are stunned, staring at each other. One of them says, "But we don’t even look alike!” to which the clerk deadpans, "Sperm donors tend to be genetically diverse."

The Confrontation

The boy and girl break the news to their parents. Both couples are in complete denial at first—"This must be a mistake!" They scramble to investigate and confirm it’s true. Their kids are half-siblings.

The ensuing chaos leads to hilarious accusations:

"How could you not notice this earlier?”

“Well, how could you not notice?!”

“We thought they just liked the same things because they grew up together!”

The parents go into full blame-shifting mode. Each set of parents reflects on all the clues they missed.

Dark Comedy Climax

The couples are forced to confront the reality of the situation, and the tone shifts to an even darker comedy as they grapple with their kids’ (now incestuous) engagement. The boy and girl are now utterly confused: Do they stay together? Can they even look at each other the same way again?

One parent could jokingly suggest that they just move to another state where it’s “legal” (obviously meant as a joke, but it falls flat).

Amidst the chaos, the parents are falling apart, the kids are in shock, and everything they've planned seems to be unraveling.

Act 4: Resolution

The Kids’ Decision

After an awkward period of silence, the boy and girl make their decision: they choose to break off the engagement, but remain best friends. They joke about how "this kind of thing only happens in the movies."

The families come together to support them, and life slowly returns to normal. However, there's still an air of awkwardness lingering—especially when they all sit down together for family holidays.

Final Twist

As the families part ways after one last group dinner, one of the dads says, “We should have another kid!” Everyone groans in unison, as if to say, “Not this again!”

Roll credits

Post-credits scene: A commercial for the sperm donor clinic appears, advertising their "mega donor" package—comically oblivious to the potential chaos it has caused.

Themes and Tone

The tone would mix sharp, witty dialogue with darkly comedic situations, leaning into the absurdity of the situation while making the audience squirm at how easily the clues were overlooked. It’s a dark take on family dynamics, the complications of modern parenthood, and the unintended consequences of technology (sperm donation).

Do you want me to start by drafting some scenes or dialogue? Or would you like to refine the outline further before we move to the screenplay?