Apologies if this should be in the "film" section, I've placed the thread here because it's to do with the story structure rather than reviewing the films.
I recently watched two American modern classics: Legally Blonde and Clueless and apart from being underwhelmed I was surprised by their lack of the vital ingredients for a compelling story. Before I continue, please note that I'm not advocating a cynical paint-by-numbers approach.
Clueless
An intelligent but vacuous rich girl, very popular, takes a new girl under her wing. New girl becomes popular and there's one scene where Alicia Silverstone seems annoyed. I thought the film would show her losing her elite status - that the new girl would outshine her or even take her place - and that would be the obstacles and antagonist that she'd need to overcome whilst overcoming internal obstacles and undergoing a character arc. So I expected she'd either win out, reclaim her crown, but developing as a person along the way (as per Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places) or she'd realise that being a popular high school girl isn't cool anymore and be a better person for it. In both scenarios I expected her to end up with the Paul Rudd character.
However nothing of the sort happens. Apart from a bit of an argument between the two over Paul Rudd, the new girl stays as her friend and protege and Alicia gets Paul Rudd all to herself. No major drams, no fall from grace/fish out of water/mountain to climb situations, no antagonist, and no stakes. It's a very tepid tale with very mild conflict (if you can even call it that) and very mild character development where Alicia realises she fancies Paul. And I am completely flabbergasted how this film was greenlit let alone such a hit.
Legally Blonde
Vacuous, popular rich girl enrols in college to win back her ex by showing him she's smart and serious. So far so good. I expect she'll find it tough and she does - specifically with one lecturer who seemingly takes a dislike to her and her charm offensives that worked so well in her former life. I expected her to begin to knuckle down and make headway - which she does by being invited to join in on a murder trial - whilst seeing her old vapid lifestyle help out, as it did when she talks liposuction to make a killer point for the defence but I expected more conflict, more obstacles and more of a need to dig deep. I thought this was going to come when her love rival for her ex tries to sabotage her. This was her arch nemesis, right? Err, no. Very quickly, the love rival discovers the protag is a sweet, helpful person.
She isn't discredited, thrown off the team, or thrown out of college, dreams in tatters and with seemingly no hope. The chief prosecutor didn't fall ill, requiting blondie to step up to lead the charge and not only win the case but prove to herself that she's the real deal. So again, no major drama, obstacles, antagonists or change and I'm surprised that none of these things were mentioned in the development stage. It's not a case of "it defied your expectations because you expected cookie cutter formulae", it's just that you expect inner and outer conflict, decent stakes, that sudden point of imminent defeat just before the finale and the inner struggle to overcome the outer struggle as per Rocky, Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark etc.
I recently watched two American modern classics: Legally Blonde and Clueless and apart from being underwhelmed I was surprised by their lack of the vital ingredients for a compelling story. Before I continue, please note that I'm not advocating a cynical paint-by-numbers approach.
Clueless
An intelligent but vacuous rich girl, very popular, takes a new girl under her wing. New girl becomes popular and there's one scene where Alicia Silverstone seems annoyed. I thought the film would show her losing her elite status - that the new girl would outshine her or even take her place - and that would be the obstacles and antagonist that she'd need to overcome whilst overcoming internal obstacles and undergoing a character arc. So I expected she'd either win out, reclaim her crown, but developing as a person along the way (as per Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places) or she'd realise that being a popular high school girl isn't cool anymore and be a better person for it. In both scenarios I expected her to end up with the Paul Rudd character.
However nothing of the sort happens. Apart from a bit of an argument between the two over Paul Rudd, the new girl stays as her friend and protege and Alicia gets Paul Rudd all to herself. No major drams, no fall from grace/fish out of water/mountain to climb situations, no antagonist, and no stakes. It's a very tepid tale with very mild conflict (if you can even call it that) and very mild character development where Alicia realises she fancies Paul. And I am completely flabbergasted how this film was greenlit let alone such a hit.
Legally Blonde
Vacuous, popular rich girl enrols in college to win back her ex by showing him she's smart and serious. So far so good. I expect she'll find it tough and she does - specifically with one lecturer who seemingly takes a dislike to her and her charm offensives that worked so well in her former life. I expected her to begin to knuckle down and make headway - which she does by being invited to join in on a murder trial - whilst seeing her old vapid lifestyle help out, as it did when she talks liposuction to make a killer point for the defence but I expected more conflict, more obstacles and more of a need to dig deep. I thought this was going to come when her love rival for her ex tries to sabotage her. This was her arch nemesis, right? Err, no. Very quickly, the love rival discovers the protag is a sweet, helpful person.
She isn't discredited, thrown off the team, or thrown out of college, dreams in tatters and with seemingly no hope. The chief prosecutor didn't fall ill, requiting blondie to step up to lead the charge and not only win the case but prove to herself that she's the real deal. So again, no major drama, obstacles, antagonists or change and I'm surprised that none of these things were mentioned in the development stage. It's not a case of "it defied your expectations because you expected cookie cutter formulae", it's just that you expect inner and outer conflict, decent stakes, that sudden point of imminent defeat just before the finale and the inner struggle to overcome the outer struggle as per Rocky, Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark etc.
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