Assignments

Chapter 11 – The Business

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Logline:

When Julianne learns her best guy friend is about to be married, she vows to steal him away for herself…on his wedding weekend.

One paragraph:

When Julianne learns her best guy friend, Michael, is about to be married, she heads to Chicago to stop the wedding and steal the groom for herself. It’s not an easy task. Michael seems to really love his fiancée, who seems to be utterly perfect, in a way that is more adorable than annoying. But Julianne is ruthless, stooping to one devious trick after another. Finally her machinations stir up Michael’s feelings for Julianne and a mistrust of his fiancée. Halleluiah! But wait…Michael really does love his fiancée, not Julianne. Julianne doesn’t get the guy, but she does redeem herself by undoing her damage so the wedding can happen after all. She’ll get the guy, someday.

Synopsis:

Julianne is a successful food critic in her late twenties who is too discriminating to ever let a guy in her life for long. But when she learns her best guy friend, Michael, (whom she briefly dated), is about to be married, she doesn’t feel ready to let Michael go. And Julianne plays to win. She heads to Chicago to stop the wedding and steal the groom for herself.

It’s not an easy task. Michael seems to really love his fiancée, Kimmy, who seems to be utterly perfect, in a way that is more adorable than annoying. Julianne pretends to embrace Kimmy as a dear friend, but she tries one devious trick after another to get rid of the girl. She reviews for Kimmy all the things she’ll grow to hate about Michael, she gets Kimmy to pressure Michael about his job, and she tries to make Kimmy seem ridiculous by getter her to sing karaoke knowing she’s tone deaf. But, damn it all, Kimmy is invincible.

At first, Julianne just didn’t want to lose her “safety net” guy, but being with Michael makes her realize this isn’t just about not losing him; she loves Michael, even though she had been too guarded in the past to admit it. Working the other direction, Julianne stirs up jealousy in Michael by pretending to be engaged to her gay friend, George. Michael does indeed seem to have some lingering feelings for Julianne, but still he’s not giving in, not quite.

Julianne stoops lower. Much lower. She fakes an email from Kimmy’s wealthy father to Michael’s boss, asking the boss to fire Michael so he will accept a job with the father’s business. When Michael learns of this, he realizes Kimmy must have put her father up to it. Feeling betrayed, he’s on the verge of calling the wedding off. Julianne feels awful, but not quite awful enough to fess up.

It’s the day of the wedding. As Michael wavers over whether to get married or not, Julianne opens up, perhaps for the first time in her life, confessing she loves Michael. She kisses him. He doesn’t stop her, though he isn’t exactly kissing her back. Kimmy witnesses the kiss. She flees, enraged. Michael chases after her. Julianne chases after Michael. It turns into a wild car chase through the streets of Chicago. When Julianne catches up with Michael, she finally owns up to the phony email. Michael is disgusted, but forgiving. It becomes clear, however, that his heart is really with Kimmy.

Julianne gets it. She will patch things up. She tracks down the understandably furious Kimmy and convinces Kimmy to go through with the wedding, by admitting that Michael loves her and her alone. Thanks to Julianne, the wedding happens. Julianne accepts it, tearfully. At the reception, she even gives Michael and Kimmy the special song that she and Michael shared. It’s bittersweet as hell, but she’ll get the guy…someday.