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Analyzing the new OVERBOARD
Overboard movie poster So OVERBOARD (1987) with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell is one of my favorite movies, but I still wanted to see the new OVERBOARD (2018) and to spend some time analyzing it. (It’s free right now on Amazon Prime). And I enjoyed it in the end, but on its own terms. Since I’m writing a romantic comedy, and since I love watching romantic comedies, I also love discussing and analyzing romantic comedies. And there were some interesting lessons.
Analyzing the New OVERBOARD
Here are some of mythoughts on the new OVERBOARD:
- Still like the set-up of the scam
- Shows how to make an unlikable love interest likable
- Uses double entendre in comic scenes – based on the scene with the male buddies
- Missing the chemistry of the original OVERBOARD
The Comedy Scam
According to John Truby, “the plan is always a scam in comedy.” So that’s the case in OVERBOARD, since Anna Faris’s character decides to pretend that Eugenio Derbez is her husband. This also brings in the “fake dating” romcom trope, which is one of my favorites. Only, OVERBOARD has a clever twist since only one of them is aware that they are “fake” married.
P.S. I highly highly recommend John Truby’s course on Comedy. It is one of the best courses on comedy I have taken so far.
Making an Unlikable Love Interest Likable
I REALLY disliked Eugenio Derbez’s character initially. He was so so awful. He had to be awful so you sympathize with the Anna Faris character taking advantage of him. So I was impressed with the scriptwriting because I started to like him. BUT am I really that easy? He makes lunch for her and I’m like, okay, I guess you’re a good guy. I guess I am really that easy. His amnesia, though, also allowed the audience to give him a fresh start.
My Favorite Scene in OVERBOARD
My favorite scene was actually when Eugenio Derbez was hanging out with the guys and he says: “I don’t think this is my life. I don’t have sex with my wife.”
The other guy says that the last time he had sex with his wife was 9 months before our daughter was born. And our daughter is now 2. (So there you have the set-up, the joke, and then the topper (and now our daughter is 2).) And that nobody thinks that this is their life.
Eugenio says that he feels that he should be the guy owning the pool, not building the pool. And all the guys say that they think that.
So it has the double entendre aspect because you know that this is not Eugenio’s life (and that in his former life, he did have sex all the time and was the guy owning the pool) and that makes that funny. But the conversation also has truth to it (everybody thinks that), which adds to the humor.
Missing the Chemistry of the Original OVERBOARD
I think that from a romantic point of view, it was missing the chemistry of the original OVERBOARD. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell definitely had more chemistry. Maybe that’s because they have chemistry in real life, but I also think that the OVERBOARD (2018) script had less flirtatious banter between the leads. I’ll have to go watch the original again to see if my theory is correct. 🙂
I remember that I wrote one scene in my draft novel where the male romantic lead was doing the dishes and my writing tutor in my Penguin UK Constructing a Novel Writer’s Academy course found this boring and said I needed to add more sparks. Meanwhile, as someone who hates doing dishes, I thought that the male romantic lead doing the dishes was sexy. Lol.
Sexy man doing dishes But she was right and I did add more banter to the scene.
Meme that I want you to want to do the dishes from The Break-Up Exactly. Why would anyone want to do the dishes?
Three Take-Aways from Analyzing the New OVERBOARD
- Use a scam in your comedy. Add a twist if you can.
- Make sure there is flirtatious banter between the leads
- Comic scenes that play with double entendres work.
Let’s Talk
Have you seen the 2018 OVERBOARD? Did you like it or hate it? What was your favorite scene? What was your favorite scene in the 1987 OVERBOARD?
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Black History Month Book Recommendations
For Black History Month, I thought I’d give some book recommendations of some of my favorite books by black women authors. Many of these are classics, and heart-breaking, but I love them.
- How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
- Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall
- Passing by Nella Larsen
- Corregidora by Gayle Jones
Short Summaries of Each Book Rec
How It Went Down
How It Went Down is a very quick read, but also heartbreaking. I read it for my book club. “When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white. In the aftermath of Tariq’s death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.”
Corregidora
Amazon describes Corregidora as the tale of blues singer Ursa, consumed by the hatred of the slave master who fathered both her grandmother and her mother. And that sentence alone gives me chills. I read this in college and still remember it vividly.
Brown Girl, Brownstones
I discovered Paule Marshall and absolutely LOVED Brown Girl, Brownstones. Maybe because it was set in New York and because my mom firmly believes in buying a brownstone in NY. I remember waiting anxiously for Marshall’s new releases. I was so excited when Daughters came out.
Brown Girl, Brownstones is about a Barbadian immigrant family living in Brooklyn. The protagonist is a ten-year old girl who strives to define her own identity “as she struggles to surmount the racism and poverty that surround her.” Her father wants to return to Barbados and her mother is trying to save money to buy a brownstone in Brooklyn.
Passing
Passing was published in 1929. (I love books set in the Roaring ’20’s). Set primarily in Harlem, “the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other’s lives. The book examines each woman’s approach to passing for white. Irene, who is insecure, seems to envy Clare’s confidence and also resent it.” She fears that Clare has made a dangerous mistake by pretending to be white to her racist husband. (from the Wikipedia summary).
#TBR Pile for YA Black History Month Book Recommendations
I have both these books in my #tbr pile as well as The Hate You Give. My daughter recommended One Crazy Summer and the rest of the series.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is “the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls who travel to Oakland, California in 196 in search of the mother who abandoned them.”
The Young Landlords by Walter Dean Myers: “They were out to save the world–and were lucky to save their skins.” A bunch of young kids buy a building.
#TBR for Romance Books
And on my #TBR for more fun reading: The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory and In Rhythm by JN Welsh.
The Proposal: “When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn’t the hard part—they’ve only been dating for five months, and he can’t even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans… At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik’s rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. . . “
I love the cover too! I bought In Rhythm because the protagonist is a female DJ. And she actually falls for a Dutch guy. (I’m half-Dutch). “With a shared passion for music and an intense mutual attraction, the pair should be totally in sync. Instead, Zazzle’s reputation has Velvet hitting Pause.” I just started reading it and I love the way JN Welsh writes. Her dialogue is so realistic. But it does have a content warning that it deals with addiction.
Let’s Talk
Do you have any book recommendations?
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Happy Valentine’s Day 2020!
Happy Valentine’s Day 2020!
Yes, these are dolls. My husband refused to model 🙂 I personally like spending Valentine’s Day reading or watching a good romcom. Although if some attractive guy wants to make me breakfast in bed, I’m all for that too!
Yummy! Plus all that unruly hair! Until I met my husband, I don’t think I ever had a date for Valentine’s Day. It was Galentine’s Day for me. When my daughter was due in February, I was really worried that she’d was going to be born on Valentine’s Day. A friend asked, “Why?” And I said, “I gather you’ve always had a date for Valentine’s Day!” (Thankfully, my daughter was not born on Valentine’s Day.)
Fallen Chocolate Cake Recipe for a Happy Valentine’s Day
Fallen Chocolate Cakes in Ramekins. Image from FamilyStyleFood (with another recipe I will have to try) Here’s my go-to recipe for Valentine’s Day: the fallen chocolate cake from Cooks Illustrated. In my draft MS, my protagonist Audrey makes this for Jake when she wants to impress him with her cooking. He is duly impressed. 🙂
Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), plus extra for ramekins
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped;
4 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ÂĽ teaspoon table salt
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour plus extra for ramekins
Butter and flour (or use cocoa powder) eight 6-ounce ramekins.
Instructions:
Melt 8 tablespoons butter and chocolate in medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water, stirring until smooth; remove from heat.
Beat the eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, and sugar until the ribbon stage – the color will be pale yellow and the volume is nearly tripled. The mixture will drop from the beaters in a heavy thick ribbon. This usually takes about 10 minutes with the hand held mixer.
Pour egg mixture over melted chocolate and butter; sprinkle flour over egg mixture. Gently fold egg and flour into chocolate until batter is completely mixed.
Pour batter into prepared ramekins. (At this stage, you can put them into the fridge for about 8 hours. They’ll need to come back to room temperature [about 30 minutes] before you bake them)
Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until the the cakes have risen over the rims. They’re done when they have a thin crust and the center jiggles when you tap ramekins.
Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake (didn’t need to do that last night cuz Kellie had buttered so enthusiastically) and invert onto a plate. Let the cake cool for about a minute before removing the ramekin.
When Adam Met Evie
When Adam Met Evie by Giulia Skye And if you’re looking for a fun escape read, my friend Giulia Skye just published her book When Adam Met Evie. Woohoo! We met on the train to the Romantic Novelists Association conference in Leeds several years ago.
I highly recommend When Adam Met Evie. The characters are very believable and engaging, the story hooks, and the setting is the Australian outback–what more could you ask for?
Here’s the blurb:
“When former Olympic Swimmer, Michael Adams—now reluctantly Canada’s hottest reality TV star— insults his fake showbiz wife on social media, he escapes the ensuing scandal and jumps on the first flight to Australia. Desperate to experience ordinary life again—if only for a few weeks—he becomes “Adam”, just another tourist traveling through the Outback. But with a reward out for his safe return and his fame’s nasty habit of catching up with him when he least expects, he needs a disguise… and he’s just found it.
Sweet and scruffy British backpacker, Evie Blake, is taking a year out of her busy London life. Tired of lies and liars, she’s looking for adventure to heal her broken heart. So when the hot Canadian she meets at the campground offers to be her travel partner through Western Australia’s wild Kimberley region, she grabs the chance, unaware he’s got the world out looking for him. He’s just a down-on-his-luck traveler, right? ” From Goodreads.
Let’s Talk
What do you like to do on Valentine’s Day? Do you have any romcom or romance book recommendations? Any recent romcom movies you’d recommend? Happy Valentine’s Day 2020!
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“Everybody Reads” Week Diorama for Library
My son’s public school has an “Everybody Reads” week where authors come in to speak to the students, and so I created a library diorama for the library.
“Everybody Reads” Week Library Diorama
“Everybody Reads” Week diorama for public school library How I made it
Our local hardware store cut the plywood to my requested size. I made the bookcases out of Balsa wood and matte board.
I made the books with various miniature book printables from friends and from the internet. L’Eggo Waffles also has a free giveaway of books during the summer for points and the packages pictured many of the kids’ favorite books. I also Xeroxed the copies of some of their favorite books and shrunk them to 1/12 size. I then glued those around foamcore or the edges of magazines.
The floor is contact paper glued on top of the plywood. I bought the back white bookshelf and the rocking chair on eBay. The librarian usually sits in a rocking chair and reads them a story before the children search for books to take out. The banner is construction paper with handwritten letters on string.
Close-Up Pictures of the Library Diorama
Here’s a close-up of the books in the white bookcase on the rear wall.
For the left side, I made mostly filler books.
And here’s the right side of the library. It has some favorites like Charlotte’s Web, Dragon Masters, The School for Good and Evil, and of course, Harry Potter.
The Right Side. Can you find Harry Potter? I want to add mini books by the authors who are coming to give book talks, but I didn’t have time this year. I figure each year I can add a few more shelves and favorite books, so it keeps up with the times.
The kids really love it. They gather around looking at it. It’s fun overhearing them find some of their favorite books in mini, like Harry Potter or the Owl Diaries. I’ve explained how they can make their own mini books. As an example, sometimes even the Scholastic book flyer has pictures of books in the right size.
Let’s Talk
What are some of your favorite children’s books?
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Three Lessons on Internal Conflict from Story Genius
Here are my three lessons on crafting internal conflict from Story Genius by Lisa Cron. I just finished reading it and Wow! I highly recommend it.
Three Lessons on Internal Conflict from Story Genius.
- “[T]he protagonist’s internal struggle is the story’s third rail, the live wire that sparks our interest and drives the story forward.” (p. 18)
- Write the “Origin Scene” – the scene in which your protagonist’s misbelief originated– and three Turning Point scenes “where her misbelief was the deciding factor in a decision she made” and which confirms that misbelief as “right.” (p.114)
- In each scene, what connects that scene to that third rail? What is the “story-specific emotional component to give it meaning and drive it forward?” (p. 247) Why does what happens matter to your protagonist? How is it slowly changing the misbelief?
Of course, these three lessons are just the tip of the iceberg. Crafting these four scenes made me really focus on my protagonist’s internal conflict and gave me backstory to insert into the novel. It showed me how what’s happening is making her change her “misbelief” and how to tie my scenes more closely to that third rail.
I started reading Story Genius because I am taking an online class by Linnea Sinclair called “Inside Out: Crafting your Character’s Internal Conflict.” She recommended reading it. This is my second course with Linnea and I highly recommend them: https://www.facebook.com/Linnea-Sinclair-75135631090/. They’re fun and chock full of writing tips for your toolbox. And completely affordable. So much value for your money.
Now I also have to figure where I am going to input the snippets of backstory that I wrote as part of the Story Genius exercises, without it seeming like a backstory information dump.
Book Recommendation: Gabriel’s Ghost (RITA winner)
I also just finished reading Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair (RITA winner, Paranormal Romance) because reading authors is another way to learn the craft. It was my first paranormal romance and it was so good. I highly recommend it, for readers and writers alike. I couldn’t put it down and just bought the next in the series.
Let’s Talk
What do you think is a story’s third rail? Do you think it is inner conflict? Have you read Story Genius? And have you read Gabriel’s Ghost? Are there any books you recommend?