Blog 3: "Don't Bother Doc. It Doesn't Hurt A Bit."

I found The Apartment to be quite an engrossing and very entertaining read, from beginning to end. From the moment Bud is heard typing in numbers and talking about his mundane work and life, I was hooked. I guess what I like the most is the fact that this script, written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, does not really focus on the overall plot, but about the growth, development and transformation of its characters, specifically Bud and Fran. We start of with Bud, a lonely insurance worker, living his mundane life one day at a time, not even being able to sleep in his own bed half the time. Bud seems to be a Yes man, one who, in the words of Fran herself, "Get took--and they know that they're getting took--and there's nothing they can do about it." Same thing goes for Fran, a young, hard-working woman who is too emotional over Mr. Sheldrake. By the end of the script, Bud has transformed and shown his true character. He grows a pair and becomes a "mensch:" He tells Mr. Sheldrake to take this job and shove it and in the end, expresses his true feelings for Fran. Same can be said about Fran. Over the course of the script, she transforms from a depressed, suicidal young woman, to the brave independent at the end. She sees the errors of her ways and realizes that her one true love is not the douche bag Sheldrake, but the compassionate and caring Bud. She as well becomes a "mensch" and heads towards her true destiny.

The only thing I thought did not work was the plot itself. The whole plot, with the other employees using Bud's apartment for some "midnight snacks," and Bud realizing the woman he loves is in love with his boss, it all just seemed like a cheesy sitcom. The characters and the interaction between them, however, make a potentially lame script into story of how we must all grow up and face our fears, themes we can all relate to.

I will definitely be picking this flick up, DVD-wise.

Juan Sanchez

1) McKee talks about characters and characterization. He mentions how the audience does not seem to really care about the story if the character is a one-dimensional characterization (he compares the Character of James Bond to the Characterization of John Rambo). Do you believe that all films NEED to have characters, or that its alright to indulge in a film with one-dimensional characters (wink-wink Rambo, in theaters now...)?

2) Before I started reading the script, I thought the apartment itself would be a character of sorts. While there was vivid description of the apartment, I never felt like the place became a character. Do you believe that transforming an inanimate object, such as an apartment, is something only a director can achieve visually?