Project 1

Learning Charlie

Genre
Drama, Coming-of-Age

Logline
A young biracial girl learns to deal with life after the death of her single mother. Follow her struggle to move on and develop a relationship with the only man in her life: her deceased mother’s boyfriend.

Synopsis
Charlie Mills is an understated half white, half Vietnamese beauty, struggling with the usual insecurities of a teenage girl. Charlie’s only connection to the white upper-class world of her father’s is in her name. While straddling the lines between the mixed cultures, Charlie finds her strength and a sense of who she is through her strong relationship with her Vietnamese mother. But her world suddenly turns upside down when her mother tragically dies in a car accident. The only person close to family she has left is her mother’s boyfriend, John, a man who has his own following of women pursuers. As the two of them attempt to form their unusual family unit, their bond is challenged by the other women in John’s life and Charlie’s desire to find her biological father.

Status
Completed and copyrighted.

Reviews
“There are some wonderful moments, and some great elements to this screenplay. The dialogue is excellent. The characters each have their own voices, with differing viewpoints and speech rhythms. There were some great lines, both in being appropriate to the characters, and also in general as being fun and original. The opening scene is intriguing - from the very first time we meet Charlie and her mother Thao, we’re interested in these two characters, and we want to see how this story plays out.

Charlie is complex and well crafted, with enough conflicting motivations to develop her as a believable character. She’s also a smart, bright young teenager dealing with complex, adult issues. As we’ve seen from the success of “Juno”, that can be a potent and audience pleasing mix.

The storyline felt fresh and original, with rising tension, and a satisfying conclusion, and the setting and the varied minor characters made it original and entertaining. The theme of racial division and Charlie’s reactions to both the condescending attitude of Bonnie and the overt racism of the private school friends added a real depth to the screenplay. At times, it felt a little overdone and one sided; having Charlie take offense and over-react to a perfectly innocent comment or misunderstanding - or something similar - might add some balance. It’s a theme that is too prevalent not to explore fully.

There a few issues that could use work, but on the whole this screenplay has a strong, original premise, many great elements - and some wonderful, inventive characters it was a pleasure to get to know.”

- Anonymous BlueCat Reader, Archive #290

 
“This is a charming coming of age story with a unique relationship between a young bi-racial Asian girl and her mother’s boyfriend. The mother is an interesting mix of a sedate Asian woman and a funky American mom. Mother and daughter are a less chirpy, more realistic version of The Gilmore Girls. We are immediately drawn both to them, the mother’s boyfriend John and the daughter’s best friend/ unrequited love interest Aiden.

The relationships between all the characters are complex without being muddied. There is real warmth…Overall the script is well constructed, non-predictable and highly engaging.”

- WILDsound 2010 Spring Feature Screenplay Finals