This is the up moment when Jake and Melanie are closest together, a reflection of the resolution and the opposite of the Act Two Break. Midpoint: Jake and Melanie kiss in the pet cemetery. But that has proven impossible, so she now embarks on a mission to achieve her goal. Until now, she was simply making a quick swing down to Alabama to get a paper signed. This gives her the idea to try to get the divorce by becoming the most annoying version of a wife he can imagine. But as the movie goes along, they discover that she should actually be with Jake instead, so by the end they are rooting for the answer to be “no.”Īct One Break: Act one ends and act two begins when Melanie learns she still has access to the joint checking account with Jake. At first, the audience is hoping that the answer to the question will be yes. The important thing, though, is that in the period between 12 minutes and 15 minutes into the movie, we establish the Main Tension: Will Melanie marry Andrew? We do an unusual thing with the tension. It’s risky not letting the audience in on the dilemma, but we did drop lots of hints that something’s amiss even if it’s not clear what that something is for a few more minutes. I think the catalyst is the proposal because we have character and dilemma. So one might argue that the proposal is the domino and the doorstep scene is the catalyst. Not as dramatic a reveal, I will admit, as the scene where Melanie appears on Jake’s doorstep and demands a divorce. To solve this, my original draft had Melanie tell her best friend she’s already married immediately after the proposal. However the audience does not yet know what the problem is. Is the catalyst the moment where Andrew proposes to Melanie in Tiffany & Co.? That’s the point where the character has the problem. It serves to set up the “lightning striking twice” theme, establish the romantic tone of the story and give a little foreshadow of the Alabama environment to come.ĭomino and Catalyst: A little tricky. There is a brief prologue with the young Melanie and Jake on the beach. I will also tell you the big structural flaw I think the movie has and why it seems to survive it. I will now analyze the three act structure of Sweet Home Alabama. Okay, time to put my money where my mouth is.
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