Screenwriting gurus are often quoted saying, "Your Hero need to have a flaw to make him(her) interesting. Nobody wants to watch somebody who's perfect." My usual snide answer to that is, "A lot of people are fans of the Christ story."
Well yesterday I went to see "The Intern," was charmed by it - actually captivated by it - and realized after I got out of the theatre that Ben, the Robert De Niro character, has no flaw. He's old but at my age I don't consider that a flaw. In my opinion, Nancy Meyers has been turning her comedic eye on - I don't want to say serious topics and concepts, but at least meaningful issues.
A whole lot of stories look at the threshold where a young man or woman has to give up childish ways and accept the mantle and responsibilities of adulthood. What about when you're allowed to lay down that mantle and you're asked to be carefree again? Ben chooses to go back to work (as a "senior intern") and he brings his world of experience to the challenge and hits a home run every time. Ben has a problem - he doesn't have a flaw.
OK, blog posts are supposed to be short. Go see this movie. Throw out those constraining rules and don't be afraid to introduce a character who's got his shit completely together.
Oh, and if you had Nancy Meyers' skill set, that would be helpful, too.
Well yesterday I went to see "The Intern," was charmed by it - actually captivated by it - and realized after I got out of the theatre that Ben, the Robert De Niro character, has no flaw. He's old but at my age I don't consider that a flaw. In my opinion, Nancy Meyers has been turning her comedic eye on - I don't want to say serious topics and concepts, but at least meaningful issues.
A whole lot of stories look at the threshold where a young man or woman has to give up childish ways and accept the mantle and responsibilities of adulthood. What about when you're allowed to lay down that mantle and you're asked to be carefree again? Ben chooses to go back to work (as a "senior intern") and he brings his world of experience to the challenge and hits a home run every time. Ben has a problem - he doesn't have a flaw.
OK, blog posts are supposed to be short. Go see this movie. Throw out those constraining rules and don't be afraid to introduce a character who's got his shit completely together.
Oh, and if you had Nancy Meyers' skill set, that would be helpful, too.
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