Is bud-com a thing?

Gosh, I really need to read Circle of Friends - I enjoyed the film and didn't realise at the time it was adapted from a novel (must've missed some of the opening credits)!

One that comes straight to mind as a dual perspective (3rd person) and about friendship is About a Boy by Nick Hornby. However, this doesn't fit the above mould as it switches POV between a thirty-six-year-old man and a twelve-year-old-boy rather than two adults. A lot of it stems around the fact that the man (Will) is horribly immature for his age and the kid (Marcus) is very mature; Will helps Marcus learn to be more of a kid and Marcus teaches Will to become more of an adult. I thought it was vaguely parent-child - that's probably extremely debateable - but it's far more about an intergenerational friendship. It's extremely humorous in my opinion and I don't normally laugh out loud at books.

There's also a more recent example: Invincible Summer by Alice Adams. Dual perspective (again third person) from the perspective of four young people, two women and two men. You do get a love triangle, but it's actually handled very well, which is impressive as most love triangles make me want to bang my head against the wall. It follows the friends across several decades and I'd say this was a bud com to an extent. I would also say that it veers into literary on occasion, but of course that's a very subjective area.

I'm going to scan my bookshelves and get back to you if I find any other examples!

Personally, I'd love to see more modern novels that revolve around the deep friendship between characters, whether it be two people or more. That said, more than two POVs in a novel can be hard to handle well (of course, great authors can pull it off) but that's probably going off topic!

I think part of the problem is reader expectations, and comedic expectations.
If the buddies are male and female, most readers will go into it expecting romance.
If you want visual comedy, it's easier to film than to write.
Thus, there are lots of bud-com movies, but few books - or even novelizations.
Look at the 'classic' classics - Martin and Lewis, Hope and Crosby, Steve Martin and John Candy. For that matter - the Odd Couple - the movie, the TV show, all the variations.
Watch one, pick a bit that really sounds like what you want, and figure out how you would put it in words.

I suspect that if you had exactly the right characters (each a clear type, and unlike each other), and could give them different voices in your head, you could do it. Then all you need is a circumstance that would force those two differing people together.
Good luck!

There should be.

From my own experience though there seems to be some genre limit. From what agents have told me is that comedic fantasy doesn't sell, for example. Although I think most novels could benefit from more jokes it would probably be a wise move to research the genre before you spend two or three years crafting a book that's took funny for genre expectations.

And, don't send your stuff to agents who say that comedic fantasy doesn't sell. They missed:
Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
Robert Lynn Aspirin
Jasper Fforde
and many more.

Perhaps re-read some of these and see how they did it, and then, what fits with what you have in mind.

There was a little boom in comedic fantasy in the 90s. Then it collapsed, & except for some top sellers pretty much dried up as a market for a while. But these things are always changing. It might be hot again next week.

benbenberi said:

There was a little boom in comedic fantasy in the 90s. Then it collapsed, & except for some top sellers pretty much dried up as a market for a while. But these things are always changing. It might be hot again next week.

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Recently, Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames - a fun, wild mashup of fantasy tropes and rock band culture - has done rather well and has at least one sequel. And there have been some popular MG fantasy humor titles within the past few years, though MG's sort of a different market; there's always going to be a market for fun stuff aimed at kids, while adults have to relearn the concept all too often.

I was aiming for things that you were likelier to have heard of, and didn't rely on special effects and stuff. I am older - these are what I know.
But, the idea is the same, get the general idea of how something similar to what you're going for works, and study it. If 'Romy and Michelle' inspires you, examine it - look for what you really like, and work on how to write to get a similar effect.
'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' might also be similar?
But, try to figure out why this is common in movies, and not in novels. You may start a trend.
Actually, set pieces like reunions, weddings, big family occasions are probably an excellent starting point for you, in that everyone understands the basics, so you're building on what the readers know. Now see what your characters do with it.
Good luck.

Good luck with it! I don't see why the idea couldn't be well done by someone with a good idea - you may spark a whole new genre!