His Girl Friday Vs Twister
May 28th 2009 08:47
Hollywood movies work to a formula. So much so, that movies that seem completely different are in fact exactly the same, hence the title of this article. It might seem hard to believe that His Girl Friday bears any resemblance to Twister but it’s the structure of the plots that are the same, not the content. Let’s begin.
In His Girl Friday Rosalind Russell plays Hildy, who is about to forsake journalism for marriage to cloddish Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). Cary Grant plays Walter Burns, Hildy's editor and ex-husband, who feigns happiness about her impending marriage as a ploy to win her back.
In Twister, Bill (Paxton) was a storm chaser, but left to become a successful weatherman. His change of profession ruined his marriage to Jo (Helen Hunt), who never really got over their relationship. Bill meanwhile has moved on and is engaged to be married.
In His Girl Friday, Hildy visits the press room to tell Walter of her plans to marry. In a flash, Walter reveals to Hildy a late-breaking news story concerning the impending execution of an anarchist, Earl Williams (John Qualen). It’s a blatant example of political injustice that Hildy can't pass up, thus drawing her back into the world of journalism, into Walter’s world.
In Twister, when Bill shows up at Jo's truck with his unadventurous fiancée, Melissa (Jami Gertz) in order to finalise things with Jo and get her to sign the divorce papers, she plays for time. Before separating, the Hardings (Bill and Helen) were working on DOROTHY, a gizmo that theoretically should release thousands of tiny sensors when a tornado passes over it. Jo and the team have finally built it, and she uses this to tweak Bill’s interest. Suddenly a twister is spotted. With little hesitation, Bill rejoins the mad rush to reach it in time to activate DOROTHY, thus drawing him back into Jo’s world.
In His Girl Friday, the story gets hotter when the accused Williams escapes and is hidden from the cops by Hildy and Walter—right in the prison pressroom, right in the thick of things. As the story deepens, and rival newshounds compete for the scoop, Hildy and Walter find new passion for each other as well as for the job they both do.
In Twister, the storms become worse throughout the day and the rivalry between Bill and Jo, and Dr. Jonas Miller (Carey Elwes), becomes more intense. As they continue facing incredible dangers together Jo and Bill find renewed love while poor Melissa finds only an intense desire to get away from these storm-obsessed lunatics. They come together in the finale, literally in the eye of the storm.
In both stories, the protagonists are drawn back into worlds that they thought they had left behind, but in reality they still yearn for. In both stories too, there is professional rivalry and equally in both, the hapless fiancé is at odds with the situation and is alienated by the world in which their partner feels completely at ease in.
So there you go, the winning Hollywood recipe; as one Hollywood executive once told Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, co-creators of Tank Girl, “making a film is like making a pizza. All you need are the right ingredients.”
Marc Paterson.
Monday, 28 April 2008.
In His Girl Friday Rosalind Russell plays Hildy, who is about to forsake journalism for marriage to cloddish Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). Cary Grant plays Walter Burns, Hildy's editor and ex-husband, who feigns happiness about her impending marriage as a ploy to win her back.
In Twister, Bill (Paxton) was a storm chaser, but left to become a successful weatherman. His change of profession ruined his marriage to Jo (Helen Hunt), who never really got over their relationship. Bill meanwhile has moved on and is engaged to be married.
In His Girl Friday, Hildy visits the press room to tell Walter of her plans to marry. In a flash, Walter reveals to Hildy a late-breaking news story concerning the impending execution of an anarchist, Earl Williams (John Qualen). It’s a blatant example of political injustice that Hildy can't pass up, thus drawing her back into the world of journalism, into Walter’s world.
In Twister, when Bill shows up at Jo's truck with his unadventurous fiancée, Melissa (Jami Gertz) in order to finalise things with Jo and get her to sign the divorce papers, she plays for time. Before separating, the Hardings (Bill and Helen) were working on DOROTHY, a gizmo that theoretically should release thousands of tiny sensors when a tornado passes over it. Jo and the team have finally built it, and she uses this to tweak Bill’s interest. Suddenly a twister is spotted. With little hesitation, Bill rejoins the mad rush to reach it in time to activate DOROTHY, thus drawing him back into Jo’s world.
In His Girl Friday, the story gets hotter when the accused Williams escapes and is hidden from the cops by Hildy and Walter—right in the prison pressroom, right in the thick of things. As the story deepens, and rival newshounds compete for the scoop, Hildy and Walter find new passion for each other as well as for the job they both do.
In Twister, the storms become worse throughout the day and the rivalry between Bill and Jo, and Dr. Jonas Miller (Carey Elwes), becomes more intense. As they continue facing incredible dangers together Jo and Bill find renewed love while poor Melissa finds only an intense desire to get away from these storm-obsessed lunatics. They come together in the finale, literally in the eye of the storm.
In both stories, the protagonists are drawn back into worlds that they thought they had left behind, but in reality they still yearn for. In both stories too, there is professional rivalry and equally in both, the hapless fiancé is at odds with the situation and is alienated by the world in which their partner feels completely at ease in.
So there you go, the winning Hollywood recipe; as one Hollywood executive once told Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, co-creators of Tank Girl, “making a film is like making a pizza. All you need are the right ingredients.”
Marc Paterson.
Monday, 28 April 2008.
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