Save the Cat Goes to the Movies

by Blake Snyder

  Fun and Games: A hilarious Fun and Games montage in which Buddy discovers “Spandex!” is followed by a reprise of his date with Jada at The Scream, this time as Buddy. Extroverted Buddy seems to have been honed by Eddie himself and, like Jerry Lewis before him, there is a hint of self-revelation in his performance that adds to this amazing character. As Buddy, he is ready and bests the comic who nailed him the night before. But The Rules include the hitch that after a certain time, the effects of the potion reverse. At the club, Sherman’s assistant suspects Buddy and follows him out. Discovering that Buddy is Sherman, he now becomes the Confidant.

  Midpoint: With the “false victory” of the successful date, Sherman rushes to class the next day and finds the Dean waiting. Larry threatens to kill Sherman — really. He also sets a “time clock” in motion, and tells of an upcoming dinner that a big donor will attend. Either Sherman bags him or Larry will kill Sherman — really.

  Bad Guys Close In: Sherman does the unthinkable and asks Jada to his family’s house for dinner — and more scatology. As Sherman he can’t get anywhere with Jada, yet neither can Buddy. The pressure is building. Sherman becomes Buddy to meet and woo the college donor (James Coburn) and takes Jada with him. It goes well. Too well. Egotist Buddy dumps Jada for three party girls.

  All Is Lost: Jada stops by Sherman’s house the next day and, since the potion has worn off, discovers him with the three women! Now Sherman loses Jada, too. He also gets evicted and finds his name being removed from his door at school: He is fired. A perfect “All Is Lost” moment, Sherman is “worse off than when this movie started” — all compliments of the bad mojo.

  Dark Night of the Soul: Gorging with food, Sherman watches an exercise video — interrupted when Buddy appears in a spot he recorded the night before. “You can’t beat me,” taunts Buddy.

  Break into Three: “Yes I can,” says Sherman. Determined, he pours out the potion. “If I’m going to change my life, it’s not going to come from some magic drink!” But Buddy tricked him; he dosed Sherman’s diet-shakes with the formula. Sherman drinks one, and becomes Buddy again. Buddy now reveals his plan to “kill” Sherman with a super dose of the potion — and be Buddy forever! A and B stories cross as Buddy takes control. Knocking out his assistant, who tries to stop him, Buddy races to the big donor dinner.

  Finale: Obnoxious Buddy arrives. Jumping onstage, he admits he is Sherman, exposing himself as fat then reducing instantaneously by using the formula as the audience looks on. But something goes awry. The danger of the formula is revealed as the two sides of his personality fight it out. In the end, Sherman dispatches Buddy, re-embraces his true body type, and admits his mistakes to all.

  Final Image: Sherman leaves in shame. Jada runs after him. “I’m gonna be big no matter what I do,” he tells her. His bulk doesn’t matter to Jada or the donor. Sherman gets the girl — and the grant. Mom was right. By believing in himself, Sherman has triumphed! As we fade out, he and Jada share an awkward but loving slow dance.

  WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000)

  In creating a hero, it’s best to start with one who has the longest journey. The protag with the furthest to go to change his ways offers the biggest bang for the peso on the premise. So when it comes to choosing someone to get the power to be able to hear What Women Want, who better than Mel Gibson as Nick Marshall, the ultimate ladies’ man?

  Director Nancy Meyers’ first effort after her split with longtime partner Charles Shyer was a solid choice — for when done well these stories are favorites. And for a movie using “magic,” it is one of the most thoughtful in the “Curse Bottle” category — those OOTB movies about magic the hero did not ask for, or is cursed by — but needs in order to grow. With a romantic co-starring role for Helen Hunt, and cameos by Valerie Perrine, Delta Burke, and Bette Midler, the film is a prime example of smart moviemaking. It works because it answers the question filmmakers assaying the OOTB genre must confront: What would happen if this amazing thing occurred in real life?

  OOTB films might seem silly on the surface, but a good one is “about something” — and the substance of What Women Want is in its theme, which explores the female mind through the one guy who can benefit from the magic more than any other. What starts as an empowerment becomes a powerful example of “be careful what you wish for.” It might just lead to change.

  OOTB Type: Curse Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: Witchboard, The Craft, Liar Liar, The Devil’s Advocate, Ella Enchanted, Bedazzled, Practical Magic, The Animal, Shallow Hal, The Ant Bully

  WHAT WOMEN WANT

  Screenplay by Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa

  Story by Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa and Diane Drake

  Opening Image: “You know the expression ’a man’s man?’” asks a female voice. A lot of women are talking about Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson): his ex-wife, his daughter, and the female employees at the ad agency where he works. All agree: He’s a rogue. We meet Mel waking in bed, a lipstick kiss on his cheek from yet another date. Mel smiles with satisfaction, not realizing Stasis = Death.

  Set-Up: Mel is a successful ad exec who lives in a luxury NYC apartment. We set up a day in Mel’s life that includes chatting with his maid; his female doorman; flirting with Lola (Marisa Tomei), the girl at his building coffee shop; and being top dog at work — even if it means ignoring an office worker, Erin (Judy Greer). Mel is up for a promotion and seems sure to get it.

  Theme Stated: At Minute 11, Mel’s boss (Alan Alda) tells Mel: “If we don’t evolve and think beyond our natural ability, we’re gonna go down.” Alan’s talking about the agency’s need to change with the times, but we know he’s talking about Mel — and the theme!

  Catalyst: Alan gives Mel the bad news: Mel not only lost the promotion, he lost to a woman.

  Debate: Will Mel accept this affront or fight it? Mel goes to his ex-wife’s wedding and learns he’s getting his daughter, Alex (Ashley Johnson), for two weeks — a complication. Women are suddenly a problem for the man’s man. The new boss arrives and Mel meets Darcy McGuire (Helen Hunt). Mel’s first look at her in the conference room is an admiring view of her legs. This is still Mel’s mindset, but we sense it’s about to be challenged. New boss Helen’s mantra is female-driven advertising. To get her team up to speed, she gives everyone in the meeting a pink box filled with women’s products. Mel receives the totem not knowing it contains part of the “magic” he will need to transform.

  Break into Two: We’ve come a long way since Freaky Friday. We know why we’re seeing this movie: the magic of Mel hearing women’s thoughts. But how will he acquire this power? We delay the inevitable as Mel gets drunk and puts on nail polish and eye liner to feel in synch with the woman consumer. Director Meyers is doing a modified “Pope in the Pool” here, obscuring what we know must happen with fun. This includes Mel’s daughter and her boyfriend surprising Mel while he’s wearing pantyhose. Mel shoos them away, then gets his stockings in a twist and falls into the bathtub filled with women’s products. As a magic-inducing final touch, a plugged-in hair dryer plops in, too. Mel is shocked and falls unconscious. When he wakes, we reprise Mel’s “day in the life” — a common trick to show change has occurred. And it has. Mel can hear what females are thinking — even female poodles. (Double Mumbo Jumbo alert!) Welcome to Act Two, Mel.

  Fun and Games: We put the B story on hold for a while to revel in the “promise of the premise.” It’s a fun movie idea, and part of that fun is seeing Mel deal with the magic in a “realistic” way. In director Meyers’ hands, it’s textbook. Step 1: Denial. Mel can’t believe it, but everywhere he goes, he hears women’s secret thoughts. Step 2: Horror. At work, he not only hears what his female co-workers think, but what they think about him! Step 3: Sharing. The Confidant (Mark Feuerstein), a male co-worker of Mel’s, doesn’t believe him. Step 4: Testing. Mel overhears cries for help, too — and the one that will become most important comes from office worker Erin. Just in time for Step 5: Rejection. Mel goes home and tries to get rid of the
powers by re-enacting the magic. Unable to do so, Mel visits his ex-therapist, Bette Midler. Bette tells Mel what we’ve known all along: He can use his powers! “If you know what women want, the world can be yours,” she says. Step 6: Work it! Mel runs amuck using fem-telepathy to get a date with Marisa, outthink his boss Helen, and get in good with his daughter’s female friends. Having the power is now amazing — and profitable — and Mel exploits it to the max.

  Midpoint: Yet Mel is still not happy. As a metaphor for growth, he’s failed to get the lesson — and by midpoint he knows it. A “time clock” is now in place: Mel has two weeks to learn “what women want” to win the Nike Woman account and best Helen. But after sex with Marisa — when he wows her with his insight into her thoughts — Mel starts to sense the “false victory.”

  B Story: Mel’s real catalyst for “evolving” is Helen. In short, Mel’s in love. It is through Helen that he will learn and grow.

  Bad Guys Close In: Mel wins the Nike account, dazzles his daughter when they shop for a prom dress, and kisses Helen — but his powers make this a cheat. We are “closing in” on the fact that Mel is hopelessly self-centered and still resists change.

  All Is Lost: Helen is fired and Mel gets her job — and he sees how wrong he’s been. Ironically, by getting everything he wanted, he is “worse off than when this movie started.” The “whiff of death” includes overhearing Erin, who is considering suicide.

  Dark Night of the Soul: Mel runs through rain to save Erin from killing herself. On the way, a lightning strike reverses the magic and takes his powers away. Has Mel learned his lesson?

  Break into Three: Mel now tries to negotiate the world of women without hearing their thoughts. A and B stories cross as Mel tells Alan that Helen should be boss. And when he gets a call from his daughter, who’s being pressured for sex by her boyfriend at the prom, he rushes there and shows love — just by listening.

  Finale: Mel has yet to win Helen. In a showdown, he seeks her out to tell her he got her job back — and confesses he stole her ideas. Helen fires Mel, but still loves him. Mel calls Helen “my hero” for helping him evolve (an echo of Pretty Woman’s ending).

  Final Image: Helen and Mel kiss and Mel can now begin anew. No longer “a man’s man,” Mel has become … Synthesis Man! He has transformed his world by changing his attitude about it.

  ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)

  Sometimes the magic is like an acid trip. But just because the word “trip” is involved doesn’t mean you went anywhere. In director Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the tale is less journey than psychedelic brain-scrub in the OOTB sub-genre “Surreal Bottle.” In this category — whether it’s playing with time in The Butterfly Effect or changing the rules of fate like in Groundhog Day — the movies all feel like “a dream.” But each ends with the hero learning what all heroes of the OOTB movie discover: that things were pretty good back in “real” life.

  Featuring a toned-down Jim Carrey, an amped-up Kate Winslet, and written by Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation), who is best known as a screenwriting iconoclast, the film asks the question: Can you erase the memory of love and defy fate? Thanks to the sci-fi-ish Lacuna Inc. (“lacuna” defined by Webster’s as “a gap or place where something is missing”), Jim will try to do just that, and x out the memory of a relationship gone wrong. Midway through the process Jim regrets his decision, and together he and Kate will try to save their love. What follows is a mad dash across the mindscape that purportedly abandons the boring old three-act screenplay structure.

  But does it?

  You decide.

  OOTB Type: Surreal Bottle

  OOTB Cousins: It’s a Wonderful Life, Heaven Can Wait, Field of Dreams, Scrooged, Groundhog Day, Pleasantville, The Butterfly Effect, Primer, Sliding Doors, The Family Man

  ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

  Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman

  Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth

  Opening Image: Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) wakes, not sure where he is. He goes out to his car and finds it dented. It’s Valentine’s Day. (“A day designed to make people feel like crap.”) Jim skips work and gets on a train to Montauk. He finds pages ripped out of his sketchbook: “It appears this is my first entry in two years.”

  Theme Stated: On the way back, Jim meets Clementine (Kate Winslet). She says: “I can’t tell from one minute to the next what I’m going to like, but right now I’m glad you’re here.” That is our theme: the battle between the ideal and the real.

  Set-Up: Turns out Jim and Kate were lovers. What we are seeing is the day after Jim had his memory of her erased. Now he gives Kate a ride home, and, as strangers, they fall in love all over again. Only after dropping Kate off does Jim sense trouble. A stranger (Elijah Wood) appears asking: “Can I help you with something?”

  Catalyst: We now go back to the day that Jim headed home to begin the Lacuna Inc. process. He’ll take a sleeping pill, lie down in bed, and await the Lacuna team to come in and erase his memory of Kate. A neighbor Jim meets in his mailroom mentions that Valentine’s Day is getting close.

  Debate: What’s going on? As Jim re-lives that mailroom scene, we flash back to how he learned of this amazing process. A friend (David Cross) tells Jim that Lacuna Inc. erased Kate’s memory of him. Jim storms into the ramshackle office, meets perky office assistant Mary (Kirsten Dunst) and the inventor of the Lacuna procedure, Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). Jim demands an explanation and learns that Kate wanted him gone.

  Break into Two: At Minute 27, Jim decides to do likewise and is told to collect everything connected to Kate so they can destroy all evidence of her. This explains why his sketchbook is missing two years of entries — the length of their relationship. Now, with Jim asleep, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and the mysterious stranger we’ll know as Patrick (Elijah Wood) arrive to oversee the brain scrub. More flashbacks as we learn how Jim and Kate met for the first time: in Montauk at a beach party with friends. We also see how their initial happiness devolved into alcohol-soaked co-dependence. Time begins to cut out; is Jim conscious or not? Hearing the name Patrick makes Jim resist the memory erase. It was the name Jim heard when he visited a post-scrub Kate at work.

  B Story: There are multiple B stories, all dealing with love. Elijah is the Confidant; he was present when Kate underwent her procedure and is using what he learned about her life with Jim to woo her. We also see Mark and Kirsten flirt when she drops by — and Elijah ducks out to have a Valentine’s date with Kate. But the main B story is Kirsten’s crush on Dr. Mierzwiak. The fallout of their relationship will kick the A story into Act Three, where the theme is clarified.

  Fun and Games: We have two worlds at play now. Up top, in “real” life, Kate and Elijah go out for Valentine’s Day. But in his mind, Jim is having second thoughts about the erasure. Having sensed something is not kosher with this Patrick character, Jim chases Kate in his imaginary world to convince her to come back to him, and to keep his memories of her intact. But even in his mind, she’s still mad at him and eludes him as scenes of their relationship vanish. This is the “promise of the premise” as Jim runs through his imagination, from memory to memory, trying to understand The Rules in order to stop Kate from being expunged.

  Midpoint: At Minute 54, Jim yells, “I want to call this off!” In “real” life, Elijah takes Kate out and repeats a line Jim used; Kate realizes something’s wrong, but doesn’t know what. This is the “false victory” turn, as back in Jim’s mind, his memory version of Kate agrees to help him. Their only hope is to look for spots in Jim’s mind where the erasure process won’t find her.

  Bad Guys Close In: Flashback to Jim’s childhood, as Kate and Jim don many guises. Bad guys (in this case the Lacuna process) search and destroy Jim’s memories. There is conflict too as Mark and Kirsten discover Jim’s brain erase is off track. Dr. Mierzwiak is called to Jim’s house to fix the problem.

  All Is Lost: Looking for a place in his memory
to hide her, Jim and Kate find a day as a boy when he killed a bird (“whiff of death”). As two little kids, like narrators observing this incident, they know they can’t hang onto their love for long.

  Dark Night of the Soul: Left alone with Dr. Mierzwiak, Kirsten quotes the Alexander Pope poem from which the title of the movie stems. Kirsten tries to kiss Dr. Mierzwiak, who resists her as Mark watches through the window. Then Dr. Mierzwiak’s wife shows up and spills the beans: Kirsten and the Doc had an affair. Even though Kirsten had her memory of the affair erased, she is doomed to keep repeating her behavior. The Lacuna process does not work.

  Break into Three: Jim and Kate relive the day they met. “I wish I’d stayed,” he says. “I wish I’d done a lot of things.” Before she vanishes, Kate whispers: “Meet me in Montauk.” A and B stories cross as a spurned Kirsten steals Jim’s and Kate’s files.

  Finale: We return to the beginning with Jim waking, memory erased. He gets up, goes to Montauk, and meets Kate. But they now get a real second chance: Kirsten has sent files to all Mierzwiak’s clients. Hearing tapes of themselves describing their past relationship, the brain-scrubbed Kate and Jim realize they already met and failed at love. Should they consider it again?

  Final Image: Jim and Kate recommit. Synthesis! What they had adds to what they learned. Eyes opened, they will try once more.

  Let’s get chummy! The first fin is spotted at Minute 31 of the indie gem Open Water, and the “life or death” struggle that ensues is pure “Dude with a Problem.”