Assignments

Chapter 2 - Plot

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Major Dramatic Question: Will Julianne stop Michael from marrying Kimmy?

Inciting Incident – Michael tells Julianne that he’s getting married this weekend, making Julianne realize she doesn’t want to lose her “safety net” guy. (It happens 9 minutes in.)

Plot point 1 –Julianne realizes she’s not just trying to win, but really wants Michael. (It happens 37 minutes in. The realization is a gradual thing, but she admits it to herself here.)

Midpoint – While riding a boat along the river, Julianne and Michael come close to kissing and confessing they love each other. (It happens 56 minutes in.)

Plot point 2 – Julianne confesses to Michael that she loves him, and they kiss…and Kimmy, seeing this, flees enraged. (It happens 80 minutes in. You might say plot point 2 is when Michael first decides to call off the wedding due to Julianne’s machinations, but he doesn’t seem completely sure of this, making Julianne’s confession of love more of a major turning point.)

Climax – Julianne convinces Kimmy to marry Michael, by admitting that Michael loves Kimmy, not herself. (It happens 90 minutes in. It’s followed by a longer than usual resolution.)

Interesting feature: This is a romantic comedy that breaks the ironclad rule of romantic comedies: the boy and girl must get together in the end. They don’t get together. It’s a little sad, but the protagonist ends up a better person all the same, because she learns to love fully. And we’re never quite sure that Michael was the guy she was meant to be with, anyway.