Bring the Funny
Page 20
They GET HIGH from the drugs and CONTINUE with their classes while tripping. They MAKE fools of themselves, but some students DECIDE they’re cool. (39)
Jenko SEEKS study help from a nerdy kid and DISCOVERS the kid can turn cell phones into body mics.
Schmidt PROPOSES throwing a party to infiltrate cool kids who hang with the drug dealer.
Schmidt ASKS Molly to the party and FLIRTS with her despite his mom almost blowing his cover.
Their boss WARNS them not to throw a party. They LIE and say they won’t.
They PREPARE for party by BUYING booze and drugs.
At party, Jenko STEALS drug dealer’s cell phone and GIVES it to the nerdy guys to hot wire into a mic.
Dealer starts to LEAVE, but cell’s not hotwired yet so Jenko PUSHES nerds to hurry.
A new, even badder drug dealer THREATENS the old dealer, and Schmidt INTERVENES, THREATENING to fight him. The new dealer PUNCHES him, and Schmidt TRIES to get out of the fight. Jenko FIGHTS a bunch of guys to HELP Schmidt, but Schmidt DEFEATS a bad guy, IMPRESSING everybody at party. (52)
Schmidt’s parents GET HIGH while returning to house.
Schmidt and Jenko RULE at the party.
Parents BREAK UP party while dealer ASKS Schmidt to work with him selling drugs.
Jenko TELLS Schmidt he bugged dealer’s phone, but Schmidt DISAPPROVES and thinks it’ll get them caught.
Schmidt BEFRIENDS dealer but DISTANCES himself from Jenko, who dealer thinks is uncool. (56)
Jenko FINDS OUT dealer’s going somewhere, so he INTERRUPTS Schmidt’s school play and they SURVEIL dealer, who MEETS with bad guys Jenko and Schmidt busted when they were patrol cops.
Jenko and Schmidt STEAL a driver’s ed car and FOLLOW the bad guys.
They ARGUE about how to drive and RUN INTO the bad guys, causing bad guys to CHASE them.
Chased by bad guys, Schmidt TRIES to TEXT with Molly as he’s late for the play. They STEAL another car.
They RETURN to the play. Jenko ACCUSES Schmidt of being in too deep, but Schmidt DENIES it.
Schmidt BARGES into the play, RUINING it, ALIENATING Molly. Jenko FIGHTS Schmidt onstage. They RUIN everything, MAKING a big scene. The principal EXPELS them both. (78)
Their boss FIRES them.
Act 3
The dealer ASKS them to PROTECT him at prom, where big deal goes down.
They PREPARE for the prom, but Mom makes them DO chores first.
They BECOME friends again and PREPARE to bust dealer at prom.
They BRING nerds to prom and GET them escort dates.
Schmidt LEARNS Molly is high, TELLS her he’s a cop, and TELLS her to leave.
They GO to the big meeting with the supplier, and they LEARN the supplier is the track coach.
The bad guys LEARN they’re cops, and they SHOOT IT OUT.
The track coach and the dealer ESCAPE, and Schmidt and Jenko CHASE.
Jenko USES chemistry stuff he learned in class to MAKE bomb to kill bad guys.
Schmidt SAVES the day by SHOOTING track coach, and Molly KISSES him.
Parental Guidance (2012)
Written by Lisa Addario & Joe Syracuse
Act 1
Artie (Billy Crystal), a sports commentator, ANNOUNCES a local baseball game on the radio, which he REVELS in.
The boss FIRES him for being old and outta touch.
Diane (Bette Midler), his wife, REASSURES him. Artie REJECTS teaching as an alternative and SAYS he wants to announce for the Giants despite Diane SAYING that’ll never happen.
Alice (Artie and Diane’s daughter) STRUGGLES to take care of kids while working from home.
Phil, her husband, DECLARES they’re going on a business trip related to the automated cyber-house he designed (which they live in) that does everything for them. They STRUGGLE to DECIDE who can watch kids while they’re gone. They WORRY that Artie and Diane will CRITICIZE how they raise their kids.
Phil and Alice ASK Artie and Diane to watch kids. Diane SAYS yes, but Artie TELLS Diane no because he thinks Alice disapproves of him, but Diane MAKES Artie agree to go. (12)
The kids (Harper, Turner, Barker) WORRY because they don’t want grandparents to watch them.
Artie and Diane GIVE kids presents that RANKLE the kids and parents because they’re so out of touch.
Artie TELLS cute story about Alice that TOUCHES her, but Alice struggles to HIDE the fact that she doesn’t keep photos of her parents because she’s not close with them.
Artie and Diane REALIZE they’re the “other grandparents,” the ones that aren’t favored by the family.
They all go to a Chinese restaurant where the parents INSTRUCT the grandparents on how to parent, which ANNOYS Artie, while Diane tries to PLAY ALONG. (23)
Artie TOUCHES Barker’s food, which MAKES him angry.
Phil and Alice struggle to LEAVE for their trip, while kids try to KEEP them from leaving.
Act 2
The grandparents struggle to FEED the kids despite the kids DEMANDING everything be exactly the way their parents serve it.
Artie and Diane struggle to TAKE kids to school despite Barker WEARING women’s shoes. Artie PAYS him to change shoes.
Alice RETURNS for a while and REVEALS that she works for ESPN, which INTERESTS Artie.
Kids at school BULLY Turner, and Artie TRIES to help, but Alice STOPS him because Turner’s therapist says not to.
Artie struggles to DROP Barker at school but can’t get him out of car seat, so he TAKES him out in the seat.
Diane SUSPECTS Alice came back because she doesn’t trust them with the kids.
Artie FORGETS to pick Alice up from where he dropped her off, making ALICE RESENT him more for being a bad dad to her over the years.
Artie WATCHES Barker’s speech therapy, then QUESTIONS therapist’s methods, then accidentally HURTS Barker when Barker overhears conversation.
Diane and Alice ENTERTAIN Harper by singing for her and BONDING.
Artie LEARNS from Turner how to talk to kids these days, then TALKS using modern kid lingo to Barker to APOLOGIZE. Barker AGREES to forgive Artie if he lets him watch a grown-up horror movie.
Artie secretly READS Alice’s email and LEARNS about a job possibility for him and APPLIES.
Artie BREAKS Alice’s rules and CAUSES family breakdown that scares Alice and CONFIRMS her worst fears that Artie can’t parent.
Alice DELAYS her trip again to stay and help watch kids.
Diane BERATES Artie for screwing up and WARNS him that they’ll blow it as grandparents if he doesn’t “shape up.”
Diane WATCHES Harper’s violin lesson and PRAISES her, but violin teacher BULLIES her for not practicing enough so Diane THREATENS to hurt the teacher.
At baseball game, Artie REMINISCES with Alice about her youth but doesn’t tell her he lost his job. Turner PITCHES well, but Artie COMPLAINS about super-sensitive rules for kids’ baseball until a kid HITS Artie.
Unable to pull herself away from the kids, Alice REFUSES to go be with Phil, saddening him.
Diane PUSHES Alice to go be with Phil, ADVISING her that she needs to support her husband.
Artie and Diane GIVE UP trying to parent like Alice and Phil. They DECIDE to parent their way now. Alice LEAVES.
Artie FANTASIZES about calling games for the Giants.
Artie and Diane take kids to city but struggle to HELP Barker use bathroom until Artie USES his old parenting skills.
At the symphony, Barker ACTS OUT and Artie is about to SPANK him when everybody there sees this and he SERMONIZES to them about how parents these days should just say “No.”
Artie PRETENDS to be his own agent to SCHEDULE audition for himself. (57)
Artie and Diane try to MAKE kids eat just one meal like an old-fashioned family.
Artie GIVES life advice to Turner.
Artie must BRING Barker to audition for the job of announcer at a skateboarding event and starts WINNING them over until Barker PEES on Tony Hawk, causing a disaster.
Artie LEARNS Turner got beat up using his advice so he GIVES Turner new advice.
Artie and Diane TEACH kids to play kick-the-can, a game from their era, and kids ENJOY it.
Alice and Phil ENJOY their trip until they see video on TV news about their kid at the skateboarding event and get super worried. (73)
Artie and Diane BOND over an old song and kids happily WATCH.
Artie ADVISES Barker how to deal with his imaginary friend, but it backfires and kid THROWS tantrum.
Alice and Phil RETURN to find family in disarray, and all Artie’s lies are revealed.
Alice FINDS OUT all the things Artie and Diane have done, and the kids REBEL.
Alice BLAMES her parents. They all have a big fight.
Diane ADMONISHES Artie for selfishly auditioning when he should have been watching Barker.
Act 3
Phil TELLS Alice that Artie and Diane didn’t do so bad, and Alice ADMITS she can never let Artie be right.
Artie APOLOGIZES to Alice for everything, CONFESSES that he lost his job, and TELLS Alice he doesn’t feel welcome in her home. Alice ASKS why they don’t get along anymore, and he SAYS she REJECTED him once she grew up, which hurt him, and he PRAISES her for being a great mom, which touches her.
To help Barker, they BURY his imaginary friend, and Artie IMPRESSES family by GIVING eulogy despite not approving of how the parents tolerated Barker having an imaginary friend.
At Harper’s violin audition, Alice sees Harper doesn’t want to do it, so Alice ALLOWS Harper to ditch the audition, WINNING Harper’s love back while Turner steps on stage and GIVES the perfect speech that Artie taught him, CURING himself of his stutter and MAKING Alice happy.
Final Thoughts on Movie Diagrams
I wrote all of these diagrams. They merely constitute my subjective assessment of the stories presented in the movies. I show them for purely academic value. I’ve given the names of the screenwriters in order to fully credit these awesome writers for their work.
About Greg DePaul
Greg DePaul grew up in Maryland and graduated from New York University. After college, he worked for The Washington Post and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting.
In 1996, Greg moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter, and that’s just what happened. He wrote with Hank Nelken, and the pair sold numerous comedy screenplays, including Saving Silverman, which was produced by Columbia Pictures and starred Jack Black, Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Amanda Peet, and Neil Diamond.
Later, Greg wrote Bride Wars, produced by Fox New Regency, starring Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Chris Pratt, and Candice Bergen. The movie grossed $115 million worldwide and was recently re-made in China. Greg has sold screenplays to Miramax, Sony, Disney, Fox, MGM, and Village Roadshow studios.
Greg teaches screenwriting at New York University and The New School for Public Engagement. His plays have been performed in New York and Los Angeles. He lives in the New York City area with his lovely wife, Dvora, and two wonderful children, Max and Sophie.
To learn more about comedy screenwriting, go to bringthefunny.com. To learn more about Greg, go to gregdepaul.com.
Index
act breaks 137–8
action 15, 94
Act Two 32, 35, 64–8, 76, 85–6, 101–3, 107, 137–8, 142
agents 26, 90, 154–8
Alive 81
American Pie 37
Anchorman 4, 17, 50, 53, 58, 83, 102–3, 142, 180
animation 149
Ant Bully 76
ass hat 36
assignment scripts 153–4
Basic Drama Rules (BDRs) 99–100
Big Daddy 74, 75–6, 77
Big Idea 62–4
The Big Lebowski (Coen brothers) 18–19
Bridesmaids 73, 178
Bride Wars (Greg DePaul) 21, 54–6, 73, 75–6, 82, 159, 161, 166, 178
Bridget Jones’s Diary 48
Bruce Almighty 69, 70, 73, 75, 181
buddy comedies 92–3
The Campaign 90, 178
characters: and character 49–50; essential natures of 49–50; Fish Outta Water 83–6; funny 47–9; with goals 104–6; inside-out approach to 50–4; morally ambiguous 57; outside-in approach to 54–6; Overly Conceived 52–3; passive 19; redundant 94; relatability of 56–8; supporting (shadow) 58–60; unlikeable 57–8
Charlie’s Angels (I & II) 74, 93, 94
Click 69, 73, 180
Clueless 81
Code of Conduct (DePaul’s) 172–5
collaboration 168–71
comedic escalation 102–3
comedy: dark 78; feature-film 79; observational 49; romantic 106, 149; see also comedy movies; writing comedy
comedy-industrial complex 148–50
comedy movies 39, 50, 57, 59, 65–6; successful 177–82
Comic Justice 75–8
conceit 101–2
concept 36
conflict 99–100, 130
Daddy Daycare 73, 181
dark comedy 78
diagramming 9–10, 14–15, 17, 183, 216; Get Him to the Greek 194–9; The Heat 183–7; Identity Thief 187–90; Neighbors 191–4; Parental Guidance 211–15; Silver Linings Playbook 199–203; This is the End 203–7; Trainwreck 10–14; 21 Jump Street 15–16, 207–10
dialogue 132–6; in parentheses 140–1
directors 27
Doctrine of Inadvertency 135
dramatic obstacles 15–16, 104–5
Dumb and Dumber To 91, 178
editing 33–6, 40–1, 97–9
Elf 69, 70–1, 73, 181
ensemble comedies 93–5
escalation 100
essential natures 49–50
ethics 172–5
Evan Almighty 69, 73, 180
Failure to Launch 77, 180
fans 89–90, 149
farce 103–6
Fargo 18
feature-film comedy 79
first acts 64–7, 102–3, 131, 137–8
first drafts 29, 32–6, 173
Fish Outta Water 83–6
Fool’s Gold 77
Forgetting Sarah Marshall 74, 180
The 40-Year-Old Virgin 17, 48, 50, 51, 53, 56, 68, 73, 107, 129–30, 131, 140, 142, 180
Freaky Friday 69, 181
Friday 74
Friends With Benefits 77, 179
The Funny 3–6, 47, 48, 50, 169
The Game Plan 77
gapping 122–3
genre bending 78–83
Get Him to the Greek (Nick Stoller) 73, 85–6, 103, 142, 179; diagram 194–9
goals, of characters 104–6
Greek tragedy 49
Grown Ups 74, 179
Hancock 69, 179
handles 56
The Hangover (I, II & III) 3, 59, 71, 74, 93, 94, 113, 178, 179
The Heat (Katie Dippold) 56, 90, 92, 100, 106, 128, 142, 178; diagram 183–7
high concept 68–72, 73
hip-pocketing 157
hooks 70–1, 73–4
Hot Tub Time Machine 93
idea factory 86–90
idea farming 72, 88
Identity Thief (Jerry Eeten & Craig Mazin) 50, 90, 92, 106, 178; diagram 187–90
inciting incident 138–9
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry 73, 180
journals 87
juggling act 113–14
Knocked Up 73, 74, 180
late point of attack 108–9
Legally Blonde 56, 73, 83–4, 181
Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde 84, 181
The Lego Movie 3
Let’s Be Cops 91, 178
Little Miss Sunshine (Michael Arndt) 40, 131
low concept 71–4
Mall Cop 52, 83, 179
managers 26, 159–60
master scenes 131–2
Meet the Fockers 142, 180
Meet the Parents 17, 73, 90, 181
mentors 20–4
Midnight in Paris 69, 70–1, 73, 179
Molière Principle
67–8
movie industry 148–50
movies: genre-bending 78–83; high concept 69; high concept with hook 73; high concept without hook 83; low concept 71; low concept with hook 73; low concept without hook 73–4; using Comic Justice 77–8; two–handers 90–3
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 53–4, 74, 181
My Dinner With Andre 53
Neighbors (Andrew Cohen & Brenden O’Brien) 50, 66, 105, 130–1, 178; diagram 191–4
Nelken, Hank 5, 156, 169–71
networking 23–4, 68–9, 154, 162–3
Night at the Museum 48, 69, 73
observational comedy 49
obstacles, dramatic 15–16, 104–5
Oedipus 49, 50
Old School 70, 73, 101–2, 181
One Fine Day 74
overall (referential) story 107–8, 122
Parental Guidance (Lisa Addario & Joe Syracuse) 138–9, 142, 178; diagram 211–15
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 52, 83, 179
Pineapple Express 74, 179
Pink Panther 142, 180
Pirates of the Caribbean 52
pitching 150–4
plotting 106–8
point of attack, late 108–9
procrastination 30–1
producers 160–1
Pulp Fiction 78
questions 130; see also What Happens Next? (W.H.N.)
readers 40–1
really important comedy screenwriting rules 124–5
referential story (overall story) 107–8, 122
repetition 133–4
re-writers 22
re-writes 154
Ride Along 90–1, 92, 178
romantic comedy 106, 149
rough drafts 29, 32–6
The Santa Clause 69
Save the Cat! (Snyder) 5
Saving Silverman (Greg DePaul & Hank Nelken) 6, 56–7, 62–3, 73, 181
scenes 128–32; important 137–9; master 131–2
School Nurse 51–2
School of Rock 73, 181
Screenplay (Field) 5, 64
screenplays 26–8
screenwriters: and the biz 147–50; comedy 32–3; and diagramming 10–19; and the Funny 3–6; and the importance of everything 8–10; and the importance of A. I. C. (Ass in Chair), 23, 28–31; and mentors 20–2; and the importance of persistence 31–3; studying heroes 19–20