Script Analysis: “Man Up” — Part 4: Themes

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Themes.

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question, What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in Man Up.

Written by Tess Morris.

IMBd plot summary: A single woman takes the place of a stranger’s blind date, which leads to her finding the perfect boyfriend.

Writing Exercise: Explore the themes in Man Up. What is its Central Theme? What are some of the related Sub-Themes?

Tomorrow we shift our focus to the script’s dialogue.

Major kudos to Clare Macdonald for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown, go here.

For Part 2, to read Plot analysis, go here.

For Part 3, to read Characters, go here.

Tomorrow we shift to Dialogue.

I am soliciting volunteers to do a scene-by-scene breakdown to be used as the foundation of our script reading series. There are also over 150 movie scripts from the last 5 years, many of which we have yet to analyze.

Beyond your name being noted here, my thanks and some creative juju, hopefully you will learn something about story structure and develop another skill set which is super helpful in learning and practicing the craft.

To read examples of scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.

To access the entire Go Into The Story Script Read and Analysis Series, go here.

Reading scripts is hugely important. Analyzing them even more so. If you want to work in Hollywood as a writer, you need to develop your critical analytical skills. This is one way to do that.

So seize this opportunity and join in the conversation! Make it a commitment to read more scripts in 2016!

To read my interview with Man Up screenwriter Tess Morris, go here.

To read my interview with Man Up producer Rachael Prior, go here.

To watch Man Up online, go here.

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