The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Birthday Girl

written by Tom & Jez Butterworth

(based on a single theater viewing)


The Birthday Girl is a cute romantic comedy.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook
    • A bank clerk goes shopping on the net for a Russian mail order bride.
  2. Complication
    • She arrives - but doesn't speak English. He wants to send her back.
  3. Call to Action
    • She seduces him. She indulges his sexual fantasies. He keeps her.
  4. Act One Plot Point
    • Two of her friends arrive from Russia. Tension.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point
    • He's the victim of a scam - and she's in on it. The friends demand money to release his wife, and he steals from the bank.
  6. Act Two Plot Point
    • The cops are out looking for him.
  7. Climax and Resolution
    • The wife ditches her abusive boyfriend and his friend, with whom she was doing the scam. The protagonist sees her off to the airport - and decides to go to Russia with her.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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