The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Good Girl

written by Mike White

(based on a single theater viewing)


The Good Girl is a dark comedy and a small gem. It's especially worth studying for its tight focus (I believe the protagonist is in every scene) and its solid 3-act dramatic structure.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook
    • The protagonist is unhappy with her life -- her job and her marriage are both unfulfilling.
  2. Complication
    • She's attracted to the new cashier, a loner who is much younger than she is.
  3. Call to Action
    • She goes out of her way to meet him. When he demands a romantic rendevouz, she gives in and meets him even though she's supposed to stay with a co-worker in the hospital.
  4. Act One Plot Point
    • She begins an affair with the young cashier.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point
    • Feeling guilty, she stops the affair. But she learns she is pregnant, and her husband has bad sperm.
  6. Act Two Plot Point
    • The cashier goes nuts without her. He robs the store where they work and wants her to run off with him. But she turns him in -- and when the police close in, the cashier kills himself.
  7. Climax and Resolution
    • She has the baby and the husband believes it is his. Life goes on.

Notes

Low key, full of dark humor about the human condition, great character roles -- a small gem.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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