“Bridesmaids”: Mentor & Attractor

An interesting discussion in my recent Create A Compelling Protagonist class. A question from Annika Wood:

Scott, what do you think of the Mentor in Bridesmaids? Who would you put your money on? (I thought Megan, too, because of the big speech she gives that gets Annie up and going again. It is information, but it’s information that gets Annie’s heart going. So it’s information rooted in an emotional issue… but maybe that’s all the information Annie needs and not the kind that would result in intellectual development. So, Megan opens Annie’s eyes to heart related stuff.)

My response:

I look at Megan as performing the primary Mentor function. Yes, the point of Megan’s wisdom contributes to an emotional transformation in Annie, but this is one of those times where really drilling down to the essence of what a character’s function is can be enlightening.

Rhodes is the character with whom Annie ends up as a mate. A clear indication his primary function is as Attractor.

Megan, as you note, provides a big speech at the beginning of Act Three:

You know what I find interesting
about that Annie? It’s interesting
to me that you have absolutely no
friends. Do you know why that’s
interesting? Here’s a friend
standing directly in front of you
trying to talk to you and you
choose to talk about having no
friends.

You don’t want help. You want a
pity party.

What? Am I bothering you? I’m
life. Life bothering you? Life’s
hard, huh? Life can push you
around. I’m your life. You’re
gonna let life bite you on the ass?

I’m trying to get you to fight for
your shitty life and you won’t do
it. I’m your shitty life Annie.

It’s that last line which opens up another level of understanding re Megan’s function. Not just this speech, but throughout she represents “shitty life.” She is the antithesis of Helen — not beautiful, not well-dressed, not a perfect husband, not a perfect life. But you know what? She enjoys the hell out of her life. She has sex. She has fun. Her life may be shitty, but it’s authentic and real and fun. So through her very presence, she is providing ‘wisdom’ to Annie: Get off your childish view of romance and accept you are not a princess in some damn Disney movie. You have life staring you in the face, seize it, enjoy it, revel in it.

Megan helps Annie bridge a gap in her awareness on an intellectual level as one part of her education so that she is able to see her life for what it is and Rhodes for who he is. Thus, I think Megan is a Mentor figure.

When dealing with character archetypes, one key is to drill down to their most basic essential narrative function. While a character may wear this or that ‘mask,’ their primary narrative function is what nails down their archetype.

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