Save the Cat Goes to the Movies

by Blake Snyder

  The prototypical catalyst character does not do much changing, but affects change in another. The perfect example is Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man who, by definition, is incapable of change. This is not to say the other half of the Buddy Love equation doesn’t need help too, or does not have to evolve in order to fit into the life the two will find at the end. If both characters change and grow, the movie’s called a two-hander, meaning that each of the buddies has a set-up and a pay-off. You will spend pages in the set-up to meet both buddies — and their problems — like in Two Weeks Notice, where smart and funny Sandra Bullock as an anti-capitalist lawyer meets Hugh Grant, as the foppish destroyer of the very buildings she’s trying to save! We know right away that each of these opposites must take one giant step forward if they want to be together.

  So what is keeping the two parties from doing that? Scratch the surface of most BLs, especially those of the “rom-com” (romantic-comedy) kind, and find “the complication” — often something bordering on the ridiculous. “For God’s sake, Matthew,” we yell at the screen during How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. “You love Kate, just tell her about the bet!” But such are the requirements that must be crowbarred in by the screenwriters to keep our two lovebirds apart: geographic distance in Sleepless in Seattle; personal ethics in which two people believe in such different things that their core beliefs must change to be in love (Two Weeks Notice); and even a slowly sinking ship in Titanic. (talk about romance us interruptus!) The ironic thing is: Each of these complications is actually what is keeping the two together!

  The complication might also involve yet another person. Thus, the three-hander includes leaving the wrong guy or gal for the right one, as in most “triangle” movies like His Gal Friday, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Sweet Home Alabama. There is even the four-hander, which dissects two couples, like We Don’t Live Here Anymore and Closer, or the lighter — and certainly more fun by comparison — When Harry Met Sally But as in most BLs, it’s all about that special other.

  Like any story, the essence of a Buddy Love boils down to conflict, in this case between two people who don’t know they have found “the one” they need. When you are writing a BL, make sure you take the couple in question all the way back before the starting line. If the two lovers don’t hate each other on sight, you have nowhere to go. Even though you’re rooting for the pair as much as the audience is, start them off as far apart, and in as much conflict, as you can.

  And here’s another little secret: Most of the time in many a romance, it’s usually the girl who knows it’s true love and the guy who doesn’t have a clue. He is also the one who needs to do the most growing. Indeed, that’s what many rom-coms of the screwball kind are really about. From the get-go in Bringing Up Baby, Katharine Hepburn knows Cary Grant is the one, and the entire plot — a leopard named Baby, the trip to Connecticut, the rocks thrown at the roof of Cary’s benefactor — is about her stalling until he knows, too. In any situation you conceive, it is ever thus; someone has to change to be with the other and usually, gentlemen, it’s us!

  ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH YOUR BUDDY LOVE?

  If you are considering a story about “completion” — be it with two, three, four, or more characters — here is a quick love note to see if your BL can get to the altar:

  It’s about an “incomplete hero” who is missing something physical, ethical, or spiritual; he needs another to be whole.

  A “counterpart” who makes that completion come about or — in the case of a three-hander (story about a triangle) or a four-hander (story about two couples) — has qualities the hero(es) need(s).

  A “complication,” be it a misunderstanding, personal or ethical viewpoint, epic historical event, or the prudish disapproval of society.

  The following Buddy Love movies span the definition of what makes a good “love” story work. Creating even a slightly different configuration can give you something brand new!

  THE BLACK STALLION (1979)

  The “boy and his dog” fable is one of the oldest and most meaningful to us cavemen. It can be traced to the story of Pegasus and to Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. This sub-class of BL movie I refer to as “Pet Love,” which includes Lassie, My Friend Flicka, and even a “boy and his whale” story like Free Willy, is about animals that have a special bond with man. There is something primeval — and forever fascinating — about the odd blend of feeling responsible to, and in awe of, a wild animal. In many such tales, man can learn more from his charge than vice versa. No film version of this relationship is more enchanting (or more beautifully shot by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel) than director Carrol Ballard’s story of a boy and his horse.

  When we begin this movie, the boy is on a ship at sea. Right off, his meeting with his friend, who’ll be called Black, shows them as kindred spirits. The stallion is tied by ropes and being whipped by handlers; the boy is helpless in his own way, and in need of more guidance than his poker-playing father can provide. When boy and horse are shipwrecked, they share an idyllic life; once home, their friendship is challenged. Wonderful Mickey Rooney was nominated for an Oscar® for his role as the trainer who is also helped by the mysterious, four-hoofed Godsend.

  BL Type: Pet Love

  BL Cousins: The Yearling, Lassie, My Friend Flicka, Air Bud, Andre, My Dog Skip, Free Willy, Beethoven, Benji, Black Beauty

  THE BLACK STALLION

  Written by Melissa Mathison & Jeanne Rosenberg

  and William D. Wittliff

  Based on the novel by Walter Farley

  Opening Image: A ship at sea. It’s 1946, a transitional moment. A boy (Kelly Reno) stands alone on the deck of the mysterious vessel, The Drake. Loud voices and whinnies draw him to a wild horse being restrained by abusive handlers with ropes and prods. The boy observes and is immediately sympathetic to the animal.

  Set-Up: The boy’s father (Hoyt Axton) is an adventurer who plays cards as the boy watches. Dad rubs his son for good luck but is busy. An opponent bets a horse statue in the poker game, as the boy gives the real horse sugar cubes (Save the Steed!).

  Theme Stated: Later that night in their cabin, Dad divvies up the spoils. He gives his son a pocketknife and the horse statue he won, and tells him a story. It’s about Alexander, who tamed the wild horse Bucephalus. “Son, if you can ride that horse you can have that horse,” Hoyt says, repeating the tale. To pursue the impossible even if no one thinks it can be achieved is our theme.

  Catalyst: At Minute 13, panic. The ship is sinking and the passengers scramble for life preservers. Dad disappears to help others; the boy goes to help the horse and opens his stall.

  Debate: What can the boy do to save the horse and himself? One of the passengers draws a knife on the boy — but only to steal his life jacket. Dad rescues the boy from the thief, and the horse escapes and jumps overboard. Dad and the boy are separated, and the boy falls in. He swims for his life as The Drake goes down.

  Break into Two: In the water, the boy finds himself in danger from the ship’s propeller when the horse swims by to save him. The boy hangs on to the horse, choosing to go with the stallion instead of staying with the sinking ship. As morning comes, the boy wakes on an island. He has the totems his dad gave him. In a strange new world, with only his knife and horse statue to protect him, he must find a way to fend for himself. When he discovers the horse caught in his ropes on the island, the boy uses the knife to cut him free.

  Fun and Games: The boy and the stallion play a game of flirtation on the island. Their dance of growing friendship is sensitively portrayed and photographed as each learns to adapt. To find food, the boy attaches his knife to the end of a stick and hunts along the shore, but discovers seaweed is edible, too. Later while asleep, the boy is saved from a poisonous snake by the horse, and rewards the animal by sharing his food. Slowly, the bond between them strengthens. Alone on the island, it is the “promise of the premise,” as the boy tames the horse like Alexander, learning how to sit atop him and ride bareback in the surf. At night,
they lay together in front of a fire. Finally, the boy is rescued by local fisherman and taken away; when the horse swims after the boy, he too is saved. The two are going home, but where’s that?

  Midpoint: Back in civilization, his schoolmates hail the boy, whose name we learn is Alec Ramsey, as a hero. The horse (called Black) is kept in Alec’s backyard and looks confined. Alec’s mom (the fabulous Teri Garr), a widow now, is glad to have her son home. One morning, the horse runs away and Alec follows. Told where Black is by an intuitive Junk Man (Clarence Muse), Alec finds the stallion is being kept in a barn on the outskirts of town.

  B Story: The B story comes in late as Alec now meets the owner of the barn, Henry (Mickey Rooney). He is a former jockey retired from racing and from life. Picking up the lesson where his Dad left off, Mickey will take Alec on the final lap to believing in the impossible. When Mickey teaches Alec how to ride “scoot and boot” style, his own dreams have been recast in the boy.

  Bad Guys Close In: The first sign of tension is between Mom and Alec when she picks him up from Mickey’s. Alec’s interest in racing will threaten his safety — and Black’s. Mickey and Alec plan to race Black, but Mickey knows his “impossible” scheme will have detractors. “You and me, we have a secret,” Mickey tells the boy. The secret includes taking a wild horse and turning him into a racehorse — and training Alec to be a jockey.

  All Is Lost: The “complication” comes from the Junk Man: “Let the horse stay wild,” he warns Alec. Is exploiting Black by racing him right? To get Black a race, Mickey calls in a favor with a racetrack radio star, arranging for the man to come see the mystery horse run. On a dark, rainy morning, Alec rides Black with all his heart. The run is so strenuous, by the time they cross the finish line, Alec is unconscious (“whiff of death”).

  Dark Night of the Soul: The boy comes to and Mickey tells him Black did well. But should Alec ride Black in the big race?

  Break into Three: A and B stories cross as Mickey waits outside while Alec tries to do the impossible again: Convince his mother to let him ride Black. To do so, he shows her the horse statue his father gave him and tells her about Alexander. Teri gives in.

  Finale: The race. Alec will appear as The Masked Rider aboard the mystery horse. Pomp and ceremony at the track is a tense lead-up as three horses, including Black with Alec as his jockey, get into place. As we linger, we’re wondering what the problem is. We know Black will win, right? Then, from nowhere, we see blood trickle down Black’s leg. Alec sees it, too … just as the starting bell sounds. Out of the chute, Alec nearly falls off. But what we cavemen are thinking is: Will Black die? Will our impossible dreams kill what we love most? Far behind in the race, Alec and Black re-focus and charge forward. The crowd, including Mickey and Teri, watches in amazement as Black catches up. Approaching his goal, Alec feels Synthesis of man and horse, flashing back to the island and the moment he first rode Black — and even to the more mythic story of Alexander. As Black and Alec win the race, they have captured what had seemed unattainable.

  Final Image: Black’s okay — his leg “strong as iron,” as is Alec’s friendship with Mickey. A change has occurred, however. Both boy and horse are free, thanks to having met each other.

  LETHAL WEAPON (1987)

  Let’s face it: Shane Black is the coolest screenwriter of my era. During the “Golden Age of the Spec Script” in the 1990s when I thought I was hot stuff for selling screenplays to Spielberg and Disney, Shane Black outclassed us all. We’d hear tales of the days his specs went out, of Shane sitting in his backyard, reading, waiting by the phone, his price going higher with every bid. In addition to many great scripts (like The Long Kiss Goodnight and The Last Boy Scout), he turned writer-director in 2005 with the quirky Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

  He is a Hall of Fame scribe, for sure.

  Legend has it that Shane, embarrassed by the over-the-top nature of his first screenplay, tossed out Lethal Weapon and had to retrieve it from the garbage, dust it off, and send it to his agent. As an example of a “Professional Love” story, we’re glad he did. For despite the crazy antics of Mel Gibson (no, I mean in this movie) and the fact that after 20 years of copycats (including me!) it feels a tad formulaic, this Richard Donner-directed, Joel Silver-produced hit is the progenitor of the “Buddy Cop” genre. What makes it work is the intertwining stories of Danny and Mel. It’s about two guys who need each other to save their lives, and as such, the very definition of what Buddy Love is about.

  BL Type: Professional Love

  BL Cousins: The Producers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Front Page, The Sunshine Boys, Tapeheads, 48 Hrs., Feds, Tango & Cash, Wayne’s World, Rush Hour

  LETHAL WEAPON

  Written by Shane Black

  Opening Image: Night. Atop a high-rise in LA, a girl does a line of coke and jumps out the window, plummeting to her death.

  Theme Stated: Morning in a less glamorous part of town, home to Detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). His wife and kids bring him his 50th birthday cake while he takes a bath. His daughter says: “Your beard’s getting gray. It makes you look old,” making Danny feel worse. Since suicide is our running theme, Danny — and we — must ask ourselves: Is it worth going on?

  Set-Up: Because it’s a “two-hander,” we meet Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Mel and his dog live in a trailer at the beach. Mel is distraught and clutches the photo of his dead wife. Back at Danny’s place, he’s shaved his gray beard. And we learn that a “Vietnam buddy” has been calling. His name: Michael Hunsaker. (NOTE: Always try to make names we must remember memorable.)

  Catalyst: At the scene of the suicide, Danny learns the name of the jumper: Amanda Hunsaker. Nope. Doesn’t ring any … hey wait a minute! Danny now knows that Amanda is his friend’s daughter.

  Debate: What does it all mean, and how will Mel play in? We see Mel in action buying drugs at a Christmas tree lot. We don’t yet know he’s a cop. Gunplay as the bust goes down among the Douglas Firs. Captured by a drug dealer, Mel begs the other cops to “Shoot me!” His antics so spook the crook, Mel subdues him. Back at the station, we learn his bosses think Mel’s either acting suicidal to draw disability or is out of his mind (no, I mean in this movie). Should they relieve him of duty or reassign him? At Minute 26, Danny finds out he’s getting a sidekick — the hard way. Mistaking Mel for a bad guy with a gun, Danny attacks, only to end up on the ground with Mel on top. “Roger, meet your new partner.”

  Break into Two: Walking into the parking garage at Minute 27, the two get to know each other, but aren’t happy about the pairing. “I suppose we have to register you as a lethal weapon,” says Danny of Mel’s dangerous side. Mel is trained to kill.

  B Story: We meet the bad guys, including Gary Busey as Mr. Joshua and Mitchell Ryan as The General. Gary is key, as he’s Mel’s counterpart. This is a great example of the fine line between good guy and bad guy, for Mel and Gary are the dark and light sides of each other. We also have a classic “how bad is the bad guy?” moment: To demonstrate just how evil he is, The General tells minion Gary to hold out his arm, and G. Gordon Liddy-style, scorches his own henchman with a lighter as Gary twitches like he’s crazy (no, I mean in this movie).

  Fun and Games: Two partners: one suicidal, the other in a mid-life crisis. What better way to demo the “promise of the premise” than to have Mel stop a suicidal jumper by going to the top of the building, handcuffing himself to the guy, and leaping together onto a safety mat? Later, when Mel and Danny go to a suspect’s house — the last to see Ms. Hunsaker — there’s more gunplay as Mel shoots the man, who drowns in his pool. “You ever meet anybody you didn’t kill?” asks Danny. More fun as Danny takes Mel home, where Mel interacts with Danny’s flirtatious daughter. (“Mr. Riggs, would you like a tart?”) Next day at the LAPD shooting range, the two think a hooker, Dixie, might know something. The “Fun and Games” end with a perfect bit as Mel shoots a happy face in Danny’s target. Mel’s button on the scene: “Have a nice day.”

  Midpoi
nt: The “stakes are raised” at Minute 65 when Mel and Danny go to Dixie’s house and an explosion destroys it; they’re almost killed. Kids describe a man they saw lurking there as having the same tattoo as Mel. Mel has a dark past — he was a Viet Nam Special Ops agent. Now we know the bad guys are Special Forces. A and B stories cross as Danny and Mel realize they have a common enemy; this “complication” is about more than a suicidal girl.

  Bad Guys Close In: Conflict within the team as Danny and Mel confront Michael Hunsaker, who tells them what this is really about: His daughter was killed to keep him quiet. The General runs Shadow Company, an ex-CIA team now importing heroin. Suddenly we no longer have to remember his name, as Hunsaker is machine-gunned by Gary from a helicopter. Gary reports to The General “another problem exists”: The police may know about the whole operation.

  All Is Lost: While seeking more information from yet another hooker, Mel is “gunned down” by a drive-by Gary in a perfect “whiff of death” moment. Not really dead, Mel realizes he can fool the bad guys into thinking he is. Then Danny learns Gary kidnapped his daughter. Following the “All is Lost” rule, Danny is “worse off than when this movie started.”

  Dark Night of the Soul: Waiting by the phone, Mel tells Danny they’re going to “get bloody” to get his daughter back.