Saturday, July 02, 2005
Tone Control--In Good Company
First, apologies for the lack of blogging. That pesky real life intervened. I have two books coming out this summer, neither of them about screenwriting. But if you have a fat dog or cat, you might be interested.
"In Good Company", in my humble opinion, suffered from not such great marketing when it was released. It is true that one of the things the movie is about is "Oh my god, Topher Grace is my boss. And he's half my age. And...he's sleeping with my daughter!"
That's the plot. But what matters as much in this movie is...the tone. Which is bittersweet, and, mostly, generous to the characters. Generous the way screwball comedies could be, or Billy Wilder's films in their kinder moments (think parts of "The Apartment," or "Some Like It Hot.")
Which is to say, this is a poignant, funny movie about downsizing with an improbably happy ending. And writer director Paul Weitz, who is third generation Hollywood royalty, knows how to pull it off, because he knows how to control the tone. Which means it can't get too slapstick, or sexy, or just plain mean. And it can be sentimental, in very limited doses.
So, when you're re-reading your screenplay, ask yourself: what kind of tone does my movie have? It doesn't have to be reduced to a single word to be effective. But the more ambitious the subject, the more consistent the tone.
"In Good Company", in my humble opinion, suffered from not such great marketing when it was released. It is true that one of the things the movie is about is "Oh my god, Topher Grace is my boss. And he's half my age. And...he's sleeping with my daughter!"
That's the plot. But what matters as much in this movie is...the tone. Which is bittersweet, and, mostly, generous to the characters. Generous the way screwball comedies could be, or Billy Wilder's films in their kinder moments (think parts of "The Apartment," or "Some Like It Hot.")
Which is to say, this is a poignant, funny movie about downsizing with an improbably happy ending. And writer director Paul Weitz, who is third generation Hollywood royalty, knows how to pull it off, because he knows how to control the tone. Which means it can't get too slapstick, or sexy, or just plain mean. And it can be sentimental, in very limited doses.
So, when you're re-reading your screenplay, ask yourself: what kind of tone does my movie have? It doesn't have to be reduced to a single word to be effective. But the more ambitious the subject, the more consistent the tone.
