Switching Sides
'The only straight player on an all-gay football team is engaged to the daughter of a disapproving, homophobic dinosaur. With his team aiming for the final, he struggles for his father-in-law's blessing, who just so happens to be the league's top referee'
Share
I like your take on this, Sydney. I think that making the father-in-law actively seek to prevent their wedding ups the stakes considerably.
Agree with the above. I’m sure there are all-gay football teams (whatever the code), but can’t think why there would be all-gay + one straight? Possibly more plausible would be an all-gay team with straight coach (similar to an all-women soccer team in Bend It Like Beckham coached by a man). Presumably the MC is trying to win respect from the future father-in-law, which in the ‘coach’ scenario could entail a victory of his all-gay team, thus blasting through some homophobic stereotypes, and winning begrudging respect from the father? So could be something like:
“When the straight coach of an all-gay football team discovers his fiancee’s father is a football-mad homophobe seeking to prevent their wedding, he must take his team to championship victory to keep the wedding on track.”
There are openings for angles here – for example the football team could be pretty poor at the start and mostly social, and so need plenty of work to challenge for the championship and win over the father in law. There also needs to be a strong reason why the man (and his fiance) don’t just go ‘stuff you dad, we are getting married’.
Why does he NEED the father-in-law’s blessing? The objective goal has to be about something with high stakes, that is, something that the protagonist must have — or else he fails. He’s already engaged. He may want, but does he need the old man’s blessing to get married?
And I don’t see a cause-and-effect linkage between his need for the man’s blessing and the football game. Or the fact that most of the team is gay; a colorful detail, perhaps, but not a causal one for the purpose of a logline.
(And is this European football or American football?)
The MC goal is the blessing from the future father in law but how will he get this blessing will it be a verbal blessing or a symbolic act? I just think that as a goal for a film a future father in law’s blessing is rather un cinematic and underwhelming.
Further more what are the stakes so what if the father doesn’t give his blessing they will marry anyway and live happily ever after. Can you raise the stakes to make it an or else situation for the MC?
Lastly the logline contains a lot of information that doesn’t contribute to the plot. In my mind: “The only straight player on an all-gay football team is engaged to the daughter of a disapproving, homophobic dinosaur. With his team aiming for the final, ” Should all be cut. The A plot is the MC trying to get the blessing from the father so deal with that and that alone.
Also I haven’t heard of an all-gay football team is there such a thing or is it fictional? If fictional was the team purposefully made to be all-gay and announced to the media or was it by chance and is kept under wraps?
Hope this helps.