WEDNESDAY'S SCRIPT TIP:
UN-LIKEABLE LEADS
Harvey Pekar passed away a few days ago, so I thought I'd run this tip in his memory. If you have not seen AMERICAN SPLENDOR, put it on your NetFlix cue...
Your lead character doesn't have to be likeable, but he has
to be interesting. Hannibal Lecter isn't likeable in HANNIBAL, but he's a fascinating guy
- we want to hang out with him to see what he'll do next. Al Pacino in SCARFACE isn't
a nice guy, but it's fun to see the American Dream gone wrong. Harvey Pekar in
AMERICAN SPLENDOR is one of the most prickly characters ever put on film, but he's
also fascinating and interesting. We don't have to *like* the protagonist in your script,
but they must be so interesting that we'll want to hang around them to see what they do
or say next.
Glenn Ficarra & John Requa's BAD SANTA is about a foul mouthed, alcoholic,
angry department store Santa played to perfection by Billy Bob Thornton. He's not a
nice guy, not looking for redemption, and not someone we'd ever want to hang out with
in real life... but for ninety minutes in a cinema he's a whole lot of (mean spirited)
fun. Here are a few of the reasons we may not like Billy Bob's character, but we can't
tear ourselves away from watching him.
1) He's a rogue and a rebel. After a few days of crowded malls, listening to the
same Christmas music over-and-over again, we may want to say "bah humbug!" to the
whole Christmas experience... but that would be wrong. So we try to be cheerful and
happy. Billy Bob does what we wish we could do - he rebels against everything cheerful
and commercial about the Christmas season. He's fed up with the holiday season, and
not afraid to show it. We may fantasize about knocking people out of the way at the
mall, he *does it*. We secretly like people who break the rules and rebel against society
- and what's a bigger symbol of society than Christmas?
2) We understand his bad behavior. He hates his job as a department store Santa,
and we'd hate it, too. Kids sneeze all over him, wet their pants on his lap, demand toys,
seem to speak in a foreign language (the kids ask for toys that he's never heard of - but
expect him to know exactly what they're talking about), the kids (and parents) feel like
they own him - he can't even eat his lunch in peace! If people kept bugging me on my
lunch hour I'd probably get mad, too. He deals with the most crass and commercial
aspects of Christmas, it's no wonder he's a Bah Humbugger.
3) We understand his character. BAD SANTA opens with Billy Bob sitting in a bar
telling us about his abusive father - this is a guy who has never known love. Even his
parents treated him badly. He's spent his entire life being abused, and now he's a bitter
drunk. That may not be someone we identify with, but we can see how he became this
angry guy. We're taken inside his miserable life. He's a guy with a chip on his shoulder,
but the film explains where that chip came from. When his father died Billy Bob was left
nothing except a basic knowledge of safe-cracking... which explains his current career.
He doesn't want to be a department store Santa, it's just part of the department store
robbery scheme. The key to writing a script with an unlikable character is making sure
that we understand the character.
4) Someone to love. At first the snot-nosed Kid (Brett Kelly) is a nuisance - hanging
around him, overly cheerful, a happy stalker. Then the Kid is an accidental helper -
fighting off the crazed Gay rapist in the parking lot and providing Billy Bob with a place
to hide out. But eventually a bond grows between the two - Billy Bob helps the Kid deal
with the skateboard bullies and deal with his self esteem issues. He sees himself in the
Kid - both have gotten the short end of the stick from society and are filled with self-loathing. By helping the kid, he's really helping himself. He's kind to the Kid, cares
about the Kid, and we're able to see a softer side of his character.
And because the Kid worships him, we really hope he gets his act together... and
we end up caring about him. The same goes for the cocktail waitress (Lauren Graham)
he shacks up with. She may just be interested in him because of that weird Santa
fetish, but she likes him. By giving him relationships with others, we have a chance to
see him through their eyes.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR also uses this technique, giving us a love story between
two prickly characters that we may not like, but we find ourselves caring about their
relationship.
5) Goal & Obstacle. Give any character a goal that requires struggle and we'll
wonder if they can achieve that goal. Here the goal is to do a very bad thing - rob the
department store on Christmas Eve. But a goal is a goal, and the obstacles are many.
First we have the torture of being a department store Santa before the robbery, then we
have his verbally abusive partner (Tony Cox) and his mercenary wife (Lauren Tom),
then we have the *very* straight-laced Personnel Director (the late John Ritter), and the
dangerous Head of Security for the department store (Bernie Mac).
6) Humor. You can have the most unlikeable character in the world, but if they're
funny we'll hang around them for a couple of hours. This guy is sarcastic, but he's also
funny because his behavior is completely inappropriate. He's the opposite of everything
we expect in a Christmas movie. Whether he's screwing plus-sized women in the
changing rooms or drinking on duty, he does those things we never expected a guy in a
Santa suit to ever do on screen. When he comes up the escalator passed out, you can't
help but laugh. His explanation for why he's wearing a fake beard is outrageously
funny, and becomes a running gag throughout the film (the Kid walks in on Santa
having sex with the Cocktail Waitress later in the film and calls her "Mrs. Claus' sister").
He's got a cynical (and funny) response to every situation.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR also gets mileage out of Pekar's caustic wit and
inappropriate behavior. Whether he's waiting in line at the grocery store or dealing with
doctors, he's always got something amusing to say.
Kenneth Lonergan's YOU CAN COUNT
ON ME is about a character who you might not want for a friend, but you can't wait to
see what he'll do next.
Laura Linney plays an ultra-responsible bank loan officer whose completely
irresponsible brother (Mark Ruffalo) comes to crash at her place and hit her up for
money. Ruffalo needs money because... he just got out of prison. You might not think
that would be an appealing character, but you come to "like" this guy for five
reasons:
1) We UNDERSTAND WHY Ruffalo's a dead beat who has problems with the law
- both of their parents were killed in a car accident when they were kids, and he fears
being attached to anything that could be yanked away from him - job, friends, even a
home.
2) He's a dreamer with his head in the clouds, and he gets us to buy into his
dreams - he wants to move back to Alaska where he thinks he can find a job.
3) Underneath it all he's a good person. His introduction scene has him leaving
this woman he's shacked up with (Gabby Hoffman) to go to his sister's house. It's an
awkward situation, but he does his best to be honest with Hoffman and spare her
feelings at the same time. He dumps her gently - and feels bad about doing it.
4) Someone to love - Ruffalo genuinely likes his sister's son (Rory Culkin). Maybe
it's because they're at the same level of (im)maturity, but he gets along great with this
8 year old. Because he loves his nephew, we really hope he cleans up his act... for
the nephew's sake.
5) Ruffalo is also a charming rogue. He's babysitting Culkin one night. The rules
are that Culkin can only watch 2 hours of TV. So after 2 hours, the TV set goes off
and Ruffalo says: "Your mom didn't say anything about playing pool, so we'll do that
for the rest of the night." He takes his nephew to a biker bar pool hall! Then he
challenges some guys to a game of pool - brother & nephew against two big biker
guys. Bets $100 they can win. This pool game illustrates #4 from above in a really
amusing scene where they win the game! It's the most fun Culkin has ever had
(mom's over protective - she holds on too tight to those around her for fear they will
be yanked away). Who would take an 8 year old to a biker bar and team up with him
in a pool match? For money? This guy is that crazy uncle you had as a kid - the one
who gave you a sip of his beer when your dad wasn't looking.
Your character may not be the nicest guy in the world, but he has to be the most
interesting guy you can imagine. For every fault, you must give us a reason why we
would want to hang out with him anyway. Hannibal Lecter EATS PEOPLE, but you
can't wait to see what he's going to do next!
Harvey Pekar on Letterman.
