[Quick Summary: A very clear, amusing character study of a 17 y.o. Sacramento girl's senior year, with the typical self-absorption and arrogance of youth.]
I liked this script because the characters were fully formed and three dimensional.
I will remember this script because:
1) The situations were very specific.*
2) The humor came out of these very specific situations (vs. funny dialogue).
This is the scene below:
- A 17 y.o. has not gotten into the school of her choice.
- This is likely her first taste of harsh reality settling in.
- She has little life experience, so handles disappointment poorly (lashes out).
- Marion is the mother. Larry is the father. Miguel is adopted brother. Shelly is Miguel's girlfriend.
Note how the humor comes out of specifics:
- The situation is funny because her hysterics are disproportionate to the big picture.
- It starts controlled and deteriorates into argument (very universal!)
- It's not so much WHAT is said as HOW words are used to thrust and parry.
ex. "INT. FAMILY/COMPUTER/MIGUEL'S ROOM. DAY.
Lady Bird sits at the computer with a list of instructions in front of her - Marion, Larry, Shelly and Miguel stand behind her.
LADY BIRD: It's a new system - you just enter your social security number and... [I like the building of anticipation here.]
She is presses [sic] ENTER and is lead you [sic] to a website that lists all the schools in the UC system she applied to with a "yes" or a "no" beside them. They all say no except for...
LADY BIRD (CONT'D): DAVIS?! [LB is outraged.]
MARION (relieved): Davis is good. Maybe you should have looked at it. [Very grounded response.]
LADY BIRD: It's only half an hour away! Less if you're driving fast! [This is her criteria?! Funny.]
LARRY: I went to graduate school there.
SHELLY: Lots of smart people go to Davis.
LADY BIRD: I thought Berkeley had to accept me. You and Miguel went there. I'm a legacy. [An entitled, childish, emotional response.]
LARRY: Eh, not if we don't give money. [Realistic, parental response.]
MIGUEL: And you get bad grades. [Snarky sibling response.]
LADY BIRD: Oh what do you know about it? [She doesn't know how to deal, so picks a fight.]
MIGUEL: Meaning?
LADY BIRD: Nothing. [Passive aggressive, insult.]
MIGUEL (turning red): What are you implying? YOU FUCKING RACIST. [He's offended. Conflict escalates.]
LADY BIRD: I didn't say anything. [She defends her "non" position.]
MIGUEL: I DIDN'T PUT DOWN MY RACE! [He defends against her "non" position.]
LADY BIRD: I'm sure they had no idea, MIGUEL! [More passive aggressive attacking.]
MIGUEL: You are actually fucking evil. What is wrong with you?
MARION: GO - GO TO YOUR ROOM!
LADY BIRD: I'm not FIVE!
MARION: I did not raise you like this, I didn't --
LADY BIRD: I don't have to go ANYWHERE! I'm not going to a fucking university that's famous for it's fucking AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. [She, stung by rejection, erupts with nonsense.]
She runs out, furious. She'd kick the computer if she could.
LADY BIRD (O.S.)(CONT'D): AND MIGUEL AND SHELLY YOU'LL NEVER GET JOBS WITH ALL THAT SHIT IN YOUR FACE! [She gets the last word.]
Miguel self-consciously puts his hand to his nose-ring, rotating it. Shelly mentally tallies all her piercings."
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I'm beginning to understand that humor can come from the structure of the situation, i.e., "not what characters say, but how they say it (and what it's used for)."
Lady Bird (2017)
by Greta Gerwig
*I have noticed that when a situation is very specific, it seems very universal as well.
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