Buddy Love: Héros incomplet, contrepartie, complication (document en anglais)

Genre: Buddy Love: Incomplete Hero, Counterpart, Complication

Sub-Genre: Rom-Com Love

Opening Image:

THEODORE (Joaquin Phoenix) writes a love letter on behalf of someone else. Pulling back, we realize this is his job. He sits all day in a stark and lonely cubicle, and writes love letters to people he’s never met before.

Set-Up:

– Theodore is having trouble getting over his divorce.

– He’s been depressed for some time now and even his friends have trouble getting him out of the house.

– Theodore isolates himself socially and loves to play video games and interact with all things technological, more than he likes dealing with real people.

– Theodore is friends with a woman who lives in his building. Her name is AMY (Amy Adams), 30s, and she’s unhappily married to a narcissist.

– Bored of his video games, Theodore can’t sleep one night and calls a phone sex line (voiced by Kristin Wiig) for companionship. This ends disastrously and Theodore is unfulfilled.

Theme Stated:

Theodore rides the elevator with Amy and her know-it-all husband. The husband proclaims to Theodore: “It’s hard to make time for the stuff you care about the most in life.” He’s talking about the documentary that Amy is working on, but this statement will have special meaning for Theodore later on in the story.

Catalyst:

Theodore attends a computer software convention. There, he buys the latest operating system, called OS1, for his computer.

Debate:

– Will Theodore use the operating system? What exactly is this “intuitive” software? Will it help Theodore with some of his problems? What will happen…?

– Theodore is at first reluctant to install OS1, but then gathers the courage to do so…

– Theodore chooses a female voice. Theodore tells the initial set-up person about his relationship with his mother. And within seconds we meet…

– SAMANTHA (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). She is sexy sounding. She is smart. And she appears to know everything.

– Theodore is taken aback. He doesn’t know what to make of this. He is almost shy around Samantha at first. And then after some banter and social discourse, Theodore agrees to Samantha’s request…

– Samantha asks to be allowed access to Theodore’s hard drive. In order for her to work most efficiently, she needs as much information about Theodore as possible.

Break into Two:

Theodore finally agrees and in seconds, Samantha knows everything about him. Their relationship begins…

Fun and Games/B Story:

Theodore at the beach with Samantha (in his pocket)

Theodore at the beach with Samantha (in his pocket)

– The A STORY is Theodore and Samantha’s relationship.

– She organizes his time at work. Lets him know about important meetings. Edits his letters.

– She keeps him company at home. Helps with video games. Talks to him about his ex-relationship.

– Samantha even gets Theodore out of the house. She makes him walk around in public and have fun, as though she were there in person.

– B STORY: Theodore’s relationship with Amy, the woman who lives in his building.

– Theodore goes over to Amy’s to watch footage of her documentary. We quickly realize that there are problems in her marriage.

– Theodore, per Samantha’s encouragement, agrees to go on a blind date that one of his friends set up.

– Theodore has a lot of fun on the blind date (Olivia Wilde), but is reluctant to go home with her. This triggers the woman’s temper and anxiety, and she becomes aggressive. Theodore can’t wait to get back to his safe home and talk with Samantha about his date…

Midpoint:

– That same night, after his blind date, Theodore talks with Samantha. The topic of sex comes up and Samantha wants to know more about Theodore’s experiences. Their sexual banter escalates and Theodore and Samantha end up having sex. Well, OS1 intuitive lovemaking, I guess you would call it. (The old-time screenwriters told Blake they

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