Diane's blog about The Screenwriter's Path

The Screenwriter’s Path

From Idea to Script to Sale

The Screenwriter’s Path
From Idea to Script to Sale

Vacations: Part Three

Movies about vacations aren’t all that common. Sure, you’ve got the five Griswold family vacation films, but that’s about it. There are others like Summer Rental and RV, but there really aren’t any memorable vacation films. And nearly all vacation films

are comedies.

So let’s do something about that.

Imagine a vacation film that isn’t a comedy—or, at the very least, is a romantic comedy or dramedy. In fact, why not start there? Let’s brainstorm some vacation ideas that would make good romantic comedies.

Let’s say a guy wins a vacation to Bermuda in a contest. It’s a vacation for two but he’s broken up with his longtime girlfriend who just got married, and he can’t get anyone to come with him. So he hires an escort for the week—no funny business, he just wants a companion [or so he tells himself]. He puts an ad in Craig’s List and picks a woman who’s kind of like him. From seeing her picture and talking to her on the phone, he feels like he’d have a lot of fun with her in Bermuda. [Realize you could easily reverse the sexes and make the woman the main character who’s put the ad in Craig’s List.] Take that idea and imagine what could happen from there:

He shows up at the airport and his chosen companion is a nun. Well, he didn’t want funny business, so he got it! So why is he attracted to her?
He shows up at the airport and his chosen companion has the pretty face from the picture—but she’s also got a good 50 pounds on him.
His companion is nice, he really likes her, but she doesn’t seem to spark to him. So he spends a lot of time turning cartwheels to try and impress her… but she clearly just wanted the free trip to Bermuda. So once they’re there, she’s gone—oh she stays in the room, but she brings other guys back with her! This is a romantic nightmare for him… until he meets a girl in the lobby late at night who’s been dumped by her boyfriend and has no place to stay until her plane leaves in three days. He’s not attracted to her, just offers to let her stay in his hotel room…as long as she doesn’t mind his roommate and HER friends. Chaos…and romance… ensues.
His companion has—just like him—suffered a recent break-up. And also like him, her lover has married someone else. So the morose two are a good match on the plane—each as listless as the other, which makes them both feel OK, actually. They get to the fancy hotel in Bermuda and he runs into his ex—there on her honeymoon with her new husband. Perfect. He’s mortified. So he tells all of this to his travel companion and she agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend if they run into his ex during the week. And she does a great job when they see his ex in the lobby as they’re all heading to the beach. When they all arrive at the beach, her husband has got an umbrella all set up for the two of them and she introduces her old boyfriend to her husband. But there’s a gasp—because the husband is the ex of our hero’s traveling companion. So now she really works at being his new girlfriend. But in the process of both of them trying to make their exes jealous, they fall in love with each other.

And that’s just a few romantic comedy thoughts. Think of vacation films that could be thrillers, dramas, coming-of-age, or action films.

So on your vacation this summer, why not think up a new vacation idea and run with it!

30Jul17

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com