The thing is, Marissa, who is the protagonist, has a very weird, twisted sense of humour (made clear in the first scene) and it is this that enables her to one-up and eventually triumph in the final showdown.I’ve been having a lot of trouble trying to work it in some how and any help would be extremely appreciated! It’s a straight-forward romantic comedy, but with a dark side to it. But still definitely in the comedy genre.
Need help with working in ‘the hook’.
It doesn’t really tell us enough about the plot to be able to help with a hook. You’ve said her weird sense of humour comes back to help her keep her man but that isn’t really much of a hook. If Marissa is the protagonist I would start with her in the log line.
‘Marissa is about to embark on her weird, yet wired dream wedding to Alex but first must prevent his obsessive ex-girlfriend from finding a way onto the guestlist.’
I know I don’t really know the story but I would be looking at presenting it something like this so that we know Marissa is the main character, her tastes are slightly weird, and the ex girlfriend is sniffing around.
Hope this helps.
Hi, thanks for commenting!
Marissa’s wedding is normal, just that the ex-GF is so determined that they at first decide to elope. When her friends and family hear about the plans, they convince her to do a destination wedding. For reasons made clear in the story they both decide not to tell her friends about the ex-GF; just that he always wanted to get married on a beach and keep it very small.
However, the ex-GF gets a job at the resort where it’s to be held. She’s kind of a “Fatal Attraction” or “Single White Female” antagonist but I still try to keep her realistic enough and present her humanely; but she is still obsessive and crazy. The heroine is a little on the crazy side herself, but the ‘good’ sort of crazy. It culminates in the ex-GF convincing her that she and her fiance have been playing her and that he’s only marrying her because her parents are rich. The ex-gf even creates a fake video where it looks like they were together the night before the wedding.
Both women begin to plot their revenge but ultimately Marissa’s faith in her fiance triumphs and she turns the tables on the ex-gf during the scene when their revenge is supposed to take place. Her wacky brand of humour is what gives her both the inspiration and the strength to get through it, in a way that makes it all believable.
You’re input is helping. There is a solid story there (my friends all love it at any rate), but summarizing to the briefest but most vital elements is something I’ve struggled with since I was a child even.