Save the Cat Goes to the Movies

by Blake Snyder

  A “spell” which, in setting up this illogical thang, we must make logical by upholding “The Rules,” no matter how tempting it may be to use “Double Mumbo Jumbo.”

  A “lesson”: Be careful what you wish for! It’s the running theme in all OOTBs. Life is good as it is.

  The following films are all about magic. And where OOTB flicks are concerned … there’s always a wish for more!

  FREAKY FRIDAY (1976)

  Ask any woman of a certain age and the secret will spill out: The movie that got them through adolescence, the film that touched them more than any other, the late-night-popcorn-in-bed-DVD-in-the-player comfort flick of all time is the Jodie Foster version of Freaky Friday.

  I don’t know why.

  I think it has something to do with that special time in life when mother and teen daughter realize the unique tension between them. Daughter feels like an ugly duckling; Mother feels under-appreciated. Little wonder this was also a successful remake directed by Mark Waters and starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in 2003.

  We revisit the early version not only because it is a nostalgic touchstone, but also to see how far we have come in the technology of introducing “magic.” If you think Liar Liar’s “spell” is thin, you won’t believe how the Mumbo Jumbo transpires here. But it reveals an OOTB truism: If we’re rooting for the participants, we don’t care how the magic happens.

  The Walt Disney Production of director Gary Nelson’s Freaky Friday is one of several successful films of the “Body Switch Bottle,” including Big and 13 Going on 30. It works, still, for a simple reason — because the lesson is primal.

  OOTB Type: Body Switch Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son, 18 Again!, Big, Dream a Little Dream, 13 Going on 30, All of Me, Switch, The Hot Chick, The Shaggy Dog

  FREAKY FRIDAY

  Screenplay by Mary Rodgers

  Based on the book by Mary Rodgers

  Opening Image: Young Jodie Foster asleep in bed. It’s 7:30 a.m. on Friday the 13th. In an hour things will get “freaky.”

  Set-Up: As 13-year-old Annabel Andrews, Jodie has braces and no bustline, a goody-goody brother who shows her up, and a Mom who constantly rags on her. Barbara Harris (who is outstanding in this role) is a neglected housewife whose husband (John Astin) is a well-meaning male chauvinist. The set-up includes Dad needing both Mom and Jodie to help at a business event later. (NOTE: It’s always good to have “a big event” in the offing to make the magic extra inconvenient.) Barbara’s under-appreciated life is spent cleaning up after everyone, and ground zero is Jodie’s messy room. What’s wrong with that girl? Well, Jodie’s at an age where she has a life beyond her home. She is captain of her field hockey team, a water skier, and has a crush on Boris, the boy next door and perhaps a distant relative of Napoleon Dynamite. Mom and daughter are at a transition stage. It is that point in many OOTB tales — and in life — when, for all of us: Stasis = Death.

  Catalyst: The actual body switch occurs in a rudimentary way that may appall Ingmar Bergman fans. At the same moment, while complaining about each other, Jodie at a local diner and Barbara at home say: “I wish I could switch places with her for just one day.” Via split screen and with some psychedelic light show flashes, they do.

  Debate: How will they deal with this? Realizing that Jodie is in Mom’s body and Barbara is in Jodie’s, the acceptance of this condition is a tad quick. There is no “denial.” It’s the premise, so they go with it — a process that has become more “realistic” in subsequent OOTB movies. Some of the ways both accept the transformation are a bit strange. Jodie, in Barbara’s body, has boobs — and likes it. Barbara, in Jodie’s body, calls home and asks for “Bill,” her “husband,” beginning the odd sexual tension that permeates the whole film. Primal? Like a car crash. Jodie tries to tell her friends about the switch but they only laugh at her.

  Theme Stated: Exiting the diner for school, Jodie’s friends say: “Our goony mothers couldn’t even get through a day like we put in.” What’s harder, Mom’s life or Jodie’s? We shall see.

  Break into Two: By accepting how this happened, Jodie and Barbara decide to go with the magic and see how the other half lives.

  Fun and Games: For now we’re just working the concept. Let’s see, what fun can we have here as Mom and teen daughter swap lives, what set pieces and riffs can we use to exploit this puppy? At school, Jodie (really Mom) acts prudish, wrecks a photography class, and goofs up her typing test. At home, Barbara (really teen daughter) tries on make-up, makes a mess of the laundry, and deals badly with a Marx Brothers-like invasion of repairmen, chatty neighbors, and drapery installers. Barbara’s body language and telling reactions to the adult world make the “promise of the premise” come to life.

  Midpoint: The “stakes are raised” by Dad at work. The big account is riding on both his wife and daughter. The former must show up to be at his side like a dutiful spouse; the latter must star in the water-ski aquacade to wow his client.

  B Story: Barbara (Jodie) decides to work her magic on Boris. She plans on making a pitch for herself while in disguise as her beautiful mother. In what will probably be a therapy-inducing sequence for Boris later in life, Barbara flirts with the underage minor. Boris likes Mom, pleased that an adult has time for him, but also cottoning to the underlying sexual implications. Barbara is at her best here as she negotiates this fine line. And plot-wise, other changes occur as daughter begins to realize … her room is a mess!

  Bad Guys Close In: The Rules are now restrictive and getting worse for both parties: Jodie (really Mom) is alienating her friends by acing History class, and lets them down in field hockey. At home, Barbara (Jodie) learns her brother admires her, and later confronts the school principal and discovers she has a high IQ. Meanwhile Jodie (Mom) drops in on Dad and his sexy secretary. Though in Jodie’s body, Mom gets Jodie’s braces off, has her hair done, and looks at her daughter in the mirror in a way that makes us believe change really has occurred. The death of old ideas is at hand as each of the women now defends the other.

  All Is Lost: But the true “death” moments deal with the amping up of danger. As the climax nears, the “whiff of death” is a threat of physical harm as Jodie (Mom) straps on water skis and Mom (Jodie) races to save her.

  Break into Three: As the chase continues, the women reverse the spell. “I wish I had my own body!” they both say. And poof! They do. But there’s a new wrinkle to the magic — this time they also switch places!

  Finale: Now Jodie, who can’t drive, and Barbara, who can’t water ski, wow the world. Dad’s clients are charmed. And mother and daughter are reunited … never to argue again.

  Final Image: In a coda, Barbara and Jodie are now friends. A Synthesis moment occurs as both say “thanks” when Dad compliments Jodie. Jodie has won Boris and is nice to her brother. The world has definitely changed for the better — thanks to magic.

  COCOON (1985)

  Whether asked for or not, a magical being comes into a unique world with a unique cast of characters and bestows a wish on those deserving of it. This is the definition of an “Angel Bottle” tale, and in most of these stories the one getting the gift is young (e.g., Cinderella) with his or her whole life ahead. It’s ironic that in director Ron Howard’s Cocoon the only young person is Steve Guttenberg (of Police Academy fame) and the ones who receive the gift these “angels” are offering are all over 65.

  In many an “Angel Bottle,” we start with a unique (often professional) setting, the underdogs who inhabit it, and a problem that needs fixing. In The Love Bug, it’s about racecars, in Angels in the Outfield, baseball — both featuring teams that are looking to reverse their fortunes and needing a miracle to do it. In Cocoon, we establish the world of the retirement home, and meet its residents (Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, and Maureen Stapleton) facing “golden years” that aren’t so golden. Death, regret, and depression loom. Then Brian Dennehy and Tahnee Welch arrive, put some s
trange rocks in a nearby swimming pool, and create a “Fountain of Youth.” By the time the Fun and Games peak, and the real issues are dealt with, there’s a choice: Stay on Earth and die the old-fashioned way … or choose “magic” and live forever.

  OOTB Type: Angel Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Mary Poppins; The Love Bug; Oh, God!; *batteries not included; Short Circuit; Angels in the Outfield; Aladdin; Meet Joe Black; Bruce Almighty; Nanny McPhee

  COCOON

  Screenplay by Tom Benedek

  Story by David Saperstein

  Opening Image: A telescope pointed at the stars. A little boy gazes at the moon. The boy is our bookend character.

  Set-Up: A retirement home in Florida. The old folks who live here are in various states of decline; some suffer in silence, others live it up in dance class. Arthur Selwyn (Don Ameche) is the Sun City Casanova. Benjamin Luckett (Wilford Brimley), his ornery sidekick. Alma (Jessica Tandy) and Joseph Finley (Hume Cronyn) are happy lovebirds. Hume, we find out, just got bad news from a doctor. As the three men strike out to sneak into the estate next door and go swimming, their lives are pretty much at an end. Wilford’s only other bright spot is his grandson, David, the telescope owner we met up front. And seemingly unrelated to this world, we also meet Jack Bonner (Steve Guttenberg), a commercial boat operator. His business is bad and won’t soon change.

  Catalyst: Into the lives of both Steve and the old folks come Walter (Brian Dennehy) and Kitty (Tahnee Welch). Though they appear “normal,” there’s something odd about them. They hire Steve’s boat and lease the house next door where the old men have been swimming, now off-limits to trespassers.

  Debate: What are these strangers up to? Steve takes them out to sea to retrieve some strange rocks; despite Tahnee’s weird demeanor, Steve is intrigued. And what should the old men do about the restriction to their afternoon swim? After Wilford loses his license at the DMV due to poor eyesight, the guys decide to trespass and go swimming like always, saying …

  Theme Stated: …”I can’t remember the last time I took a risk.” Our theme: Is it too late to take a chance in life?

  Break into Two: At the pool, the three old dudes see several big rocks at the bottom of the deep end. They jump in anyway, splash around, and cavort like children. Soon they feel younger, more energetic. The pool is regenerating them.

  B Story: While the B story is in many ways the love story between Steve and Tahnee, it’s also about another retirement resident, Bernard Lefkowitz (Jack Gilford). Jack is friends with the other men; his wife has Alzheimer’s. Yet he refuses to risk changing his life. Jack is a Confidant with mortal fears. His debate with the others is where the theme of this story is discussed … whereas Steve and Tahnee’s sex romp is there to bring a younger demographic into the movie theater!

  Fun and Games: As the old men find a new lease on life, the “promise of the premise” is revealed as basically an updated Fountain of Youth story. We now get the ironic notion of picking Florida for the setting of this film, the site of Ponce de Leon’s fabled attempt to discover just such a tourist attraction. The Fun and Games is textbook as the silver foxes become Viagra superstars. Hume’s threatening disease goes into remission, and word of the rejuvenating pool quietly spreads. We learn why the pool has powers when Steve stumbles upon Tahnee’s secret. Both she and Brian are aliens! The rocks they are retrieving from the ocean and keeping in the pool are “cocoons” containing their brethren. The spacemen become friends with the old folks, frolicking in the pool with them and even playing cards.

  Midpoint: At mid-movie, we have a “false victory” and the beginning of the downward slide toward “All Is Lost.” In a great revenge scene, Wilford returns to the DMV and aces the eye test. The Preparation H Squad celebrate out on the town in Wilford’s car and show the “kids” a thing or two at the local break-dance club. By now the old dears are getting a tad irritating. The magic is curdling. It’s the perfect time to discover Hume is seeing another woman in town. His “feeling good” has a downside: He’s risked losing Jessica’s love — and their marriage.

  Bad Guys Close In: Hume and Jessica separate. “I’m happy you’re going to live Joe, but I’ve got to live too,” she says. Jack’s refusal to go swimming with the others and heal his wife has become a sticking point. His loud public revelation of the pool’s magic leads to a gray stampede as the residents rush to jump in.

  All Is Lost: Brian discovers the old folks’ invasion of the pool house has cracked one of the cocoons. The alien inside has died and the life force has been drained from the water. When Jack finds his wife dead later that night and tries to revive her in the magic pool, it’s too late.

  Dark Night of the Soul: Jack’s wife is taken away in an ambulance. And the cocoons have only hours to survive.

  Break into Three: The only hope is to get the cocoons back in the ocean. A and B stories cross as Steve and the old folks join forces in a moment of Synthesis to help return the cocoons to the sea. As thanks, Brian offers everyone eternal life. All the humans have to do is come with him to outer space … forever.

  Finale: What a dilemma! Stay or go? Wilford shares his plans with David, who takes the news hard. The race to escape includes David agreeing to let Wilford go. The alien craft lifts off with the risk-takers, as B story characters Jack and Steve stay behind.

  Final Image: A “funeral” for Wilford. Bookend character David looks toward heaven. Grandpa’s up there, happy at last.

  THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996)

  “Now a warning?!”

  This line from Death Becomes Her is one of my favorites. It’s spoken by Meryl Streep, subsequent to her swallowing a potion to make her forever young and told The Rules too late. It’s a hilarious beat and reinforces an OOTB truism: The curse becomes apparent only after we get what we most desire. This is also one of the signatures of the “Thing Bottle,” those tales where magic is delivered to us by totem (Like Mike, The Mask) or elixir (Love Potion #9). One of the best is director Tom Shadyac’s CGI tour de farce, The Nutty Professor.

  Like the original Jerry Lewis masterwork, the Eddie Murphy reprise is a Jekyll and Hyde story. Instead of just being about a meek scientist who turns egomaniac by use of a potion, the new version adds obsession with weight loss. As tubby Sherman Klump, Eddie is sweet and brilliant. But his bulk is stopping him from getting ahead. Only after he invents a fat-reducing potion and becomes Buddy Love (an homage found in the name of another genre we’ll soon discuss!) does his inner egotist come out — and the battle between his two halves begins. Being Buddy may get him places, but it stops Sherman from finding happiness. The lesson of “doing it without the magic” is nigh. Every wish is a curse, turns out, even when we get everything we think we really want.

  OOTB Type: Thing Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Electric Dreams, Love Potion #9, The Mask, Jumanji, Flubber, Death Becomes Her, Like Mike, Clockstoppers, Click, The Last Mimsy

  THE NUTTY PROFESSOR

  Screenplay by David Sheffield & Barry W. Blaustein

  And Tom Shadyac & Steve Oedekerk

  Based on the motion picture

  Written by Jerry Lewis and Bill Richmond

  Opening Image: Eddie Murphy plays many roles in this film. First up is Richard Simmons clone, Lance Perkins, leading an aerobics class on TV. In the foreground, a tubby man gets ready for his day.

  Set-Up: Meet Sherman Klump (Eddie in a fat suit), a college professor working on a weight-reduction formula. We get a “Save the Lab Rat” moment as he protects his guinea pig from more tests. We admire Sherman, as does his assistant (John Ales). But the college’s Dean Richmond (Larry Miller) does not. Calling him on the carpet, Larry reveals Sherman’s weakness: He alienates donors to the school. We also meet Miss Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith), who’ll be Sherman’s love interest. Sherman is too shy to ask her out. Instead he goes home where we meet the rest of the Klumps at a scatological family dinner. Through the magic of make-up, Eddie brilliantly portrays all the Klump adults. All XL.

&nbs
p; Theme Stated: You’re always going to be fat, Sherman is told by his Mom (also Eddie) in a Stasis = Death moment, but adds: “All you got to do is believe in yourself and you can do anything.”

  Catalyst: Inspired by his Mom, Sherman asks Jada out to a hip club, The Scream — but will Sherman get in shape in time?

  Debate: Love or food? The battle between Sherman’s appetite and his need to be “normal” is primal. Sherman has a nightmare that includes a take-off of From Here to Eternity as Sherman crushes Jada in the surf. But by the night of his date, he’s ready. Sherman and Jada go to The Scream and all goes well until an insult comic (that’s Dave Chappelle!) wallops Sherman with fat jokes. Sherman takes it, but the pain is palpable. After the show, Sherman drops Jada at her place and sadly heads home to stuff his face in front of the TV.

  Break into Two: Later that night, he has another dream in which he imagines himself as Fatzilla. Fed up (in more ways than one), Sherman goes to the lab and creates the magic potion that will transform his life. It is a fat-reducing formula that messes with DNA and testosterone levels. Taking the potion, he now becomes, well, Eddie Murphy: confident, obnoxious … and thin!

  B Story: Eddie meets Jada in Sherman’s lab at school and gets stuck for an ID. He tells Jada his name is Buddy Love, a nod to the original film. We now see the Jekyll and Hyde element. Buddy asks Jada out and she agrees. But the true B story is between Sherman and Buddy. It’s where the theme will be discussed. Which of his “selves” is the real Sherman?