Why is this billed as a comedy???

Indeed. I have been watching a lot of movies lately supposedly labeled as "comedies", and yet they aren't. A good example would be "About Schmidt" or "Adventureland".

Don't get me wrong I "get" those movies, and I even enjoy them, but labeling them as "comedies" is just wrong.

its an extremely dark comedy, look harder, or soften up towards the subject (it maybe personal to some and therefore they might not find the situations funny) and you will see the comedy in this wonder wonder movie

I found this movie to be poignantly funny. The way these people avoid their issues, and their double talk, and the irrational things they say and do. It's just funny in how human and fallible they are.

The film doesn't know what it is in terms of genre. It has significant comedic overtones for the first half of it or so, then it completely vanquishes into a melodrama. I would have taken the comedy out for the most part as it was poorly implemented to begin with (it was detracting, however a few scenes such as the racist film and Hoffman's character hurting his back and having to use the support does work). The film still garners a 8/10 however.

I found this film to be very funny within its dramatic context. There are no really big gags or verbal jokes, just everyday happenings and exchanges that are intrinsically funny.

The general dynamic between jon and wendy was great: the luggage-checking argument, the fact that jon says "i gained wait" before wendy can say anything, when jon hurts his back and wendy thinks he's having a heart attack, etc. The movie is full of little, gentle laughs.

I watched The Savages for the first time a year ago, and then I sat down to rewatch it tonight with my dad. I described it to him as a comedy, but it was way darker and sadder than I remembered.
I asked him if there something wrong with me for finding it funny. He said yes.

Was it billed as a comedy? I also noticed it billed as a comedy-drama, dramedy, or tragicomedy.

I had that discussion with my mom and my bro. How to label movies properly and such because we are from Russia.

In Russia the car not only drives you but it has a thing such as "tragic comedy". Now if you take a movie American Pie - there is nothing tragic in it. Its a strait forward comedy. But if you take Up In The Air would be considered a tragic comedy. In the end there is really nothing funny and same goes for The Savages.

I do think it makes sense to bring in that classification along the drama/comedy just comedy and tragic comedy. It might be worded differently but you get the point.