Save the Cat Goes to the Movies

by Blake Snyder

  The “establishment” here is 30 years worth of American culture and our overblown reverence for it. The ’50s, the Hippie era, the Disco life, and even the me-worshiping joys of jogging and wealth-building, are shown to be of lesser value than quietly observing a sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, and, most important, expressing love for others. Forrest shows us that the fool has a bead on the truth. While we go dashing all over the world searching, he can find a whole universe sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus.

  FT Type: Society Fool

  FT Cousins: Charly, Zelig, Shine, Awakenings, Sling Blade, Radio, My Left Foot, I Am Sam, The Other Sister, Mask

  FORREST GUMP

  Screenplay by Eric Roth

  Based on the novel by Winston Groom

  Opening Image: A feather floats in the wind. It lights at the feet of a man with a bad haircut, parked on a bus bench.

  Theme Stated: A woman sits next to the man, who introduces himself as Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks). Offering her candy, Tom says: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Fate vs. self-will, that’s our theme.

  Set-Up: In flashback we set up Tom’s background. He is physically handicapped and mentally deficient, gifted with a loving single mother (Sally Field). Isolated as he is in 1950S Greenbow, Alabama, this young man has an effect on history even early on: Thanks to his leg braces, he teaches Elvis a unique way to dance.

  B Story: At Minute 13, picked up by the bus for school, young Forrest meets Jenny (later played by Robin Wright). The theme of the movie will play out through their relationship.

  Catalyst: When our hero is picked on by bullies, young Jenny urges him, “Run, Forrest!” and he learns he can run really fast.

  Debate: Is it true, as his Momma says, that his feet can take him anywhere? That’s the A story, and it seems to be so: The adult Forrest (Tom) plays college football at Alabama under Bear Bryant. Zelig-like, Tom folds himself into history again as he stands next to Governor George Wallace at a speech opposing integration, and later when he visits JFK in the White House.

  Break into Two: Tom graduates, joins the Army, and enters the “upside-down world.” Floating like a feather, suiting up and showing up, and trusting fate, is Tom’s MO. On leave before he’s sent to Vietnam, he sees Robin performing as a singer at a nude club. She has much to learn. Trying to “will” her life to be better, she forever comes up short. At Minute 31, Tom meets Bubba (Mykelti Williamson), a great example of revealing character in dialogue: Every time he speaks, it’s about shrimp. Tom also meets Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise). Both men will help guide Tom, and he them.

  Fun and Games: For anyone who lived through the era, Vietnam was the touchstone and the source of the powerful moments of this movie. Both at home (where Robin becomes a folk-singing hippie) and in the jungles of Asia, the war defines the era. Gary, the Insider, thinks like Robin does and is certain he’s in charge of his destiny. But when an ambush wipes out his platoon, Gary is rescued by Tom, who carries him to safety. Mykelti dies, Gary loses his legs, and Tom wins the Medal of Honor. Yet all he did was what Robin said: Run. Now Tom finds a new skill: ping-pong. Why? Because he does what’s put in front of him without judgment.

  Midpoint: After Tom moons President Johnson at a White House ceremony, he is part of a DC war protest. At 1 hour 4 Minutes, A and B stories cross and Tom experiences a “false victory” as he is reunited with Robin at the Washington Monument, in front of a cheering crowd. “It was the happiest moment of my life,” narrates Tom. From here on out, things will get tougher for Robin as she descends into the dark side of drug use, bad relationships, and loss of spirit. Likewise, after being on The Dick Cavett Show with John Lennon — and giving him the lyrics to “Imagine” — Tom is reunited with Gary, now a wheelchair-bound miscreant. Gary’s bitterness is due to his disappointment with his life. “Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?” he snarls.

  Bad Guys Close In: Tom fulfills his bargain with Mykelti and becomes a “shrimp’n’ boat captain.” We also see Robin get further lost in the glitterlands of America, now doing hard drugs. Gary joins Tom and, while fighting a storm at sea, finally “makes his peace with God,” and thanks Tom for saving his life. The storm also makes Tom and Gary rich. When Tom gets a message that his Mom is sick, he races home. On her deathbed, she tells Tom he has to find his destiny himself. With her death, Tom is alone.

  All Is Lost: At 1 Hour 45 Minutes, Robin comes home and sleeps “like she hadn’t slept in years.” A “whiff of death” is nigh. She throws rocks at her old house and “breaks” like Gary. After confessing to Robin: “I’m not a smart man but I know what love is” (trust me, this line never works), Tom proposes to her. She says no, but sleeps with Tom and leaves the next day.

  Dark Night of the Soul: With the shoes Robin gave him, Tom starts jogging, sadly criss-crossing the US. Against the backdrop of the Carter years and Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty,” he is bereft, reflecting the national mood post-Vietnam as well.

  Break into Three: At 2 hours, A and B stories cross again as Tom gets a letter from Robin and seeks her out. Now sitting on the bus bench, he asks directions to her house. This is why he’s been telling his tale. He learns Robin’s house is five blocks away.

  Finale: Tom and Robin reunite. Having given up her selfish pursuits, Robin apologizes and Tom learns he has a son (that’s Haley Joel Osment). Robin and Tom marry and Robin dies, but not before Gary shows up a changed man. He is walking and has a fiancée, all thanks to the transforming power of being pals with Forrest Gump.

  Final Image: At Robin’s grave, Tom synthesizes the film’s theme: Life is both fate and self-will. “I don’t know if we have a destiny or if we’re floating around on a breeze. It’s both happening at the same time,” he says. The moments that count most are those touched by an awareness of a higher power. He puts Forrest Jr. on the bus, and we notice the feather at Tom’s feet. Off it goes blowing in the wind, into the sky … and right to you.

  LEGALLY BLONDE (2001)

  One of my favorite FT movies is the one that made Reese Wither-spoon a star. As the iconic Elle Woods, Reese plays a fabulous “fish out of water,” a sorority girl who, dumped by her college beau, pursues him to Harvard Law and discovers she’s got something special beneath her golden roots: a brain.

  Unlike the “Undercover Fool” who takes on a disguise as part of the trip, the “Society Fool” overlooked by the group due to a supposed deficiency, or the “Political Fool” whose “jester in the king’s court” role is his cover for superior wisdom, the “Fool Out of Water” brings a fresh set of principles from her old pond up onto dry land — where suddenly, almost magically, they have greater meaning. Elle will prove that the code of her sorority, and its principles of honor, truth, and fidelity — plus her Girl Power work ethic — can win. With the help of twin mentors, a manicurist who teaches her as much as she teaches the mentor, and a helpful lawyer (Luke Wilson), Elle is on her way to victory.

  Helmed by Robert Luketic, the movie boasts a “killer title” and one of the most powerful color themes ever. Pink is the tint of triumph for this “Fool Out of Water,” worn by Elle Woods and Bruiser Woods, the Chihuahua sidekick Elle takes with her everywhere — even into court.

  FT Type: Fool Out of Water

  FT Cousins: Stripes, Beverly Hills Cop, Private Benjamin, Crocodile Dundee, My Blue Heaven, Mr. Mom, Coming to America, Daddy Day Care, Elf, The Pacifier

  LEGALLY BLONDE

  Screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith

  Based on the book by Amanda Brown

  Opening Image: It’s a “Perfect Day” on Sorority Row at fabled CULA, an LA-based college, as the girls of Delta Nu sign a card for President and Homecoming Queen Elle Woods (Reese With-erspoon), wishing her luck. Her beau’s proposing tonight!

  Theme Stated: Shopping for an outfit, Reese and bosom buddies Margot (Jessica Cauffiel) and Serena (Alanna Ubach) are almost tricked by the clerk. “There’s nothing I like better than a dumb blonde with dadd
y’s credit card,” the counter maven says. But Reese proves she knows more about the merchandise than the sales lady and outsmarts her. Being discriminated against for being blonde is the film’s thematic hurdle, established here.

  Set-Up: The Harvard Law School-bound Warner (Matthew Davis) turns up for their date. At Minute 7, he surprises Reese by dumping her. “If I’m gonna be a senator by the time I’m thirty,” he says. “I need to marry a Jackie not a Marilyn.” This variation on the “Save the Cat” scene is called Kill the Cat, and works exactly the same way: Until this moment, we think Reese is a tad plastic, but after seeing her smooshed, we feel for her. From this point forward, we’ll root for her to get whatever she wants.

  Catalyst: Moping at Minute 12, Reese goes to a beauty salon with her pals and gets new info: Her almost-fiancé’s brother is engaged to a girl in law school. That’s what Reese needs to win her beau back! By being more serious, maybe he’ll marry her!

  Debate: Can she get into law school? As Reese’s counselor tells her: “Harvard won’t be impressed that you aced History of Polka Dots.” Fashion-major Reese begins to study for the LSATs, eschews Greek Week, does a sexy video “directed by a Coppola,” and gets approved by an all-male Harvard Law admissions staff.

  Break into Two: At Minute 20, a pink-clad Reese arrives on dry land, a fish totally out of water, along with chihuahua Bruiser Woods and a Bekins truck in tow. Her goal is still getting a ring on her finger, so she’s shocked to discover her ex is engaged to Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair). She’s even more shocked when the unwelcoming Selma gets her kicked out of a class taught by the tough, Paper Chase-y Professor Stromwell (Holland Taylor).

  B Story: Twin B stories as Reese meets Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson), a seasoned law grad. But her guiding spirit is Paulette Bonafonte (Jennifer Coolidge), the “funhouse-mirror” twist on her sorority sisters, who has also been dumped by her ex. Both Luke and Jennifer will give Reese the push into Act Three she needs.

  Fun and Games: Reese brings the pink to law school — and is rejected by the brown and gray-toned students who don’t get her. Her attempts to blend in by dressing conservatively, bringing muffins to a study group, and using her CULA sorority-row ways in Harvard Yard are the crux of the “promise of the premise.”

  Midpoint: At Minute 42, we reach a turning point when Reese is tricked by Selma, who invites her to what she thinks is a costume party. Reese shows up dressed in a Playboy bunny outfit, and after running into her ex, is told she should give up her chase of him and law school. That exchange marks the end of one part of Reese’s journey and the beginning of another, as Reese decides to redouble her efforts as a student. A determined Reese, still ala Bunny, is next seen in line at the student bookstore by Luke (as A and B stories cross). In her rebound rise, Reese and Jennifer reclaim Jennifer’s dog from her ex-lover (a second A and B cross). There’s even a nice FT moment as Reese dons glasses (her fool’s disguise), so she can pose as Jennifer’s attorney. As Selma (the Insider) watches in fear, Reese impresses Professor Callahan (Victor Garber) and presents him with a pink and scented resume. Finally Reese is chosen along with her ex and Selma to work on a big case with Victor, who’s a practicing attorney.

  Bad Guys Close In: The “stakes are raised” as Reese enters the world of the law firm. One of her Delta Nu sisters, Brooke Taylor (Ali Larter), is charged with murder; Luke is revealed as Victor’s right hand man; and the pressure mounts for Reese to perform. While Reese coaches Jennifer in the art of wooing the salon’s UPS Man and teaches her the “bend and snap” routine (that I still wish someone would explain to me), the case continues — and it looks bad for Brooke. Reese gets Brooke to reveal her alibi in private, but their sorority sister’s code prevents Reese from telling anyone else. This honorable act shows Selma that Reese has character. Reese and Luke go to a spa to see the murdered man’s ex-wife (Raquel Welch). On the way, Reese repeats the theme: “I’m discriminated against as a blonde.”

  All Is Lost: After Reese shines in court, the lecherous Victor calls her into his office and makes a pass. Devastated, Reese leaves as Selma accuses her of sleeping with the professor to get ahead. Reese realizes she will never be appreciated for her brain.

  Dark Night of the Soul: Reese tells Luke goodbye, and packs.

  Break into Three: Two A and B stories cross in fast order. First, Reese stops by Jennifer’s beauty shop and is encouraged by Professor Stromwell, who tells her not to quit. Second, Luke and Selma (who’s given up her Insider’s distrust and become an ally) now confront Brooke, tell her the smarmy Victor hit on Reese, and convince her to fire him - and hire the Blonde!

  Finale: All arrive for the final courtroom scene, including Reese’s Delta Nu girlfriends and Jennifer with her UPS beau. Reese enters wearing pink, a perfect example of Synthesis. And just as in the early scene when she bests the clerk by knowing the merchandise, Reese tricks the victim’s daughter into confessing by understanding the rules of perms — and wins the case! Then true victory comes as her ex proposes and she turns him down.

  Final Image: Big change from the opening image with caps in the air as Reese graduates Harvard Law — first in her class!

  THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (2005)

  The risk of this movie is inherent in its title, for as clever as it is (it’s also the pitch!), there is a sense going in that it might get, shall we say … sophomoric. And, yes, while this Judd Apatow-directed “farce of nature” does not disappoint in that regard, what we actually get is a sweet, sensitive, and in an odd way, inspiring comedy — and the very best of the “Sex Fool” sub-genre, those stories where the hero is confused for a lothario, but is quite the opposite.

  Much of the successful finessing of this dilemma is due to the screenplay stylings of Apatow. In both The Cable Guy and Knocked Up, his approach is very Farrelly Brothers: Start with a broad concept and get more meaningful as the film progresses. It helps to have Steve Carrell (whose shy persona makes this silly premise believable) as co-writer and star.

  Steve plays a lowly shipping clerk at a Circuit City-type store. His adventure begins when he admits that, though he is 40, he has never “done the deed.” Into the breach rush his know-nothing co-workers, each considering himself an expert on sex. But it’s not until Steve shows them how to do it that they all start to grow. And the fool has never been more triumphant than in the movie’s final musical number, in which, to the anthem from Hair, the 40 Year-Old Von-Virgin celebrates the glory of patience.

  FT Type: Sex Fool

  FT Cousins: I Love You, Alice B. Toklas; The Party; Play It Again, Sam; Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; The World’s Greatest Lover; Loverboy; Roxanne; Down with Love, Bridget Jones’s Diary; The Guru

  THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN

  Written by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell

  Opening Image: Meet Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) asleep in bed, looking kinda sad, and when he wakes, we know why: His morning erection reveals he’s a little “backed up.” Like a real-life Pee-wee Herman, boyish Steve makes breakfast and gets ready for his day, donning a helmet and riding his bike to work, but not before waving at the nice couple upstairs.

  Theme Stated: The neighbor waves back and says: “That guy has got to get laid.” It’s the theme … but is it true? Do you have to have sex to have a fulfilling life?

  Set-Up: Steve works in the stock room of Smart Tech. Sharing about his weekend, a co-worker, the bearish Cal (Knocked Up’s Seth Rogen), tells a graphic sex story while Steve can only talk about making an egg salad sandwich. We meet the others: David (Paul Rudd), who misses his angry ex-girlfriend, and shaved-headed Jay (Romany Malco), the player. The guys invite Steve to their poker game, assuming him a rube. Steve surprises them by winning. This won’t be the last time Steve trumps his pals; it’s a prelude to other lessons the “fool” will be dispensing. After the game has ended, the guys begin to tell sex stories. Steve is shy about his experiences …

  Catalyst: … and at Minute 13, it slips out: Steve’s a virgin!

  Debate:
What should Steve do now? Embarrassed — and a little scared that the guys know — Steve considers quitting his job. In reviewing his life, we learn why Steve never had sex — although he came close. Like a 40-year-old boy, Steve collects comic-book action figures, paints soldiers, and plays video games. That life is now in jeopardy as Paul and the others begin to convince him to try again. Steve can’t escape a society consumed by sex — even ads for a sexy perfume called “Eruption” seem to be following him everywhere.

  Break into Two: At Minute 22, Steve agrees to go out with the guys and enter the world of “men” — or at least the world these fellow boys he works with consider manly. The range of advice on how to “become a man” is hilarious. First idea: Find a drunk girl. At a club, Steve does just that and is sent home with her by the other guys, but his wild ride with this drunk girl mostly involves getting thrown up on. Steve has tried, but he is still a virgin.

  B Story: At Minute 33, Steve meets Trish (Catherine Keener) — not only more age-appropriate, but actually attracted to him. Catherine works nearby, yet even when she gives him her number, Steve’s too shy to call. Catherine will be his agent of change.

  Fun and Games: Almost from the get-go, we realize Catherine is “the one” for Steve, but the “promise of the premise” includes showing just how far this fish is out of water. His buddies initiate Steve into their world, and lock him in the store with a porn tape playing in the front window. The guys also take him to get his chest hair waxed in a painful and hilarious scene. (“We gonna need more wax!”) At Minute 46, telling Steve to “Be David Caruso in Jade,” Seth takes him to meet Beth, a wild blonde. Beth confuses Steve’s “virgin in the headlights” stare as “cool.” The fool has a fan who’s sure he’s a lothario. Later, Paul drops by Steve’s house with a box of porn, and pulls Steve into speed-dating, where we meet Paul’s angry ex.