RIPE TIDE is a character driven story of self-discovery. It’s driven by solid themes about grieving, healing, and moving on with life after falling down.
The tone is consistently dramatic and there’s an element of a fish out of water tale. The script features very likable and compelling characters that have strong inner conflict. The goal is clear and the risk is personal.
There’s a lot to like about this script, but in every good script there’s room for more development.
The story opens establishing Cora’s ordinary world. It’s well conveyed that she’s under pressure from her mother to do well and that a major contract is at risk. However, the opening, and about the first ten or so pages, feels too long, especially the feature of her …show more content…
It might be different if Cora was in her 20’s and had a successful career and then something happened (inciting event) that interrupted her career, and her agent, or someone else, suggested that she leave town. Maybe she’s also leaving a boyfriend behind. It would be nice if she had some more resistance to going to Australia.
The fish out of water element is nicely done, especially the baseball game with the coconuts etc. There’s even more room for this.
As mentioned, however, the second act truly requires more tension. Elevating Tyson’s role would help. Also, consider the idea of adding personal animosity between Sofia and Margot. Maybe something happened in their past. Instead of Sofia calling Cora, maybe she shows up in Australia. This would add more tension and face-to-face conflict.
The idea of Cora getting upset because the models hack her design is a nice payoff from the opening, but it feels a bit episodic. One doesn’t see Cora as a person with anger issues. In fact, she seems to suppress her anger and it just doesn’t feel realistic to her personality. She would be hurt and feel rejected, but not physically aggressive. In contrast, near the end, her outburst works when she points out that Margot is stuck in the …show more content…
She’s clearly stuck in the past. This is well conveyed by the locked workshop, the men’s shoes, her inability to go into the water, and her memories of Caleb (but be careful of having too many memories, as they can impede the pace). She’s a fun character and she also provides nice insight for Cora (be true to self). At the end she undergoes a strong character transformation as she learns to move on.
Bee is a delight and she also acts as a mentor and as a guide. She has some very insightful dialogue that contains solid subtext (around page 46).
Jesse has his own charm. The “fish” gift is funny. Chicka is another colorful character that shines. Sofia is very well established as being self-absorbed. She’s emotionally awkward and stuck. It would be nice to see more of her later in the script. She’s clearly driven by ambition and at the end she accepts her daughter’s hug providing a hint to her arc.
Tyson is underused as a character and there’s more room for development.
The script has some minor typos and formatting issues. The word “Mannequin” appears misspelled. On page 73, there’s an extra “Cora” character
The tone is consistently dramatic and there’s an element of a fish out of water tale. The script features very likable and compelling characters that have strong inner conflict. The goal is clear and the risk is personal.
There’s a lot to like about this script, but in every good script there’s room for more development.
The story opens establishing Cora’s ordinary world. It’s well conveyed that she’s under pressure from her mother to do well and that a major contract is at risk. However, the opening, and about the first ten or so pages, feels too long, especially the feature of her …show more content…
It might be different if Cora was in her 20’s and had a successful career and then something happened (inciting event) that interrupted her career, and her agent, or someone else, suggested that she leave town. Maybe she’s also leaving a boyfriend behind. It would be nice if she had some more resistance to going to Australia.
The fish out of water element is nicely done, especially the baseball game with the coconuts etc. There’s even more room for this.
As mentioned, however, the second act truly requires more tension. Elevating Tyson’s role would help. Also, consider the idea of adding personal animosity between Sofia and Margot. Maybe something happened in their past. Instead of Sofia calling Cora, maybe she shows up in Australia. This would add more tension and face-to-face conflict.
The idea of Cora getting upset because the models hack her design is a nice payoff from the opening, but it feels a bit episodic. One doesn’t see Cora as a person with anger issues. In fact, she seems to suppress her anger and it just doesn’t feel realistic to her personality. She would be hurt and feel rejected, but not physically aggressive. In contrast, near the end, her outburst works when she points out that Margot is stuck in the …show more content…
She’s clearly stuck in the past. This is well conveyed by the locked workshop, the men’s shoes, her inability to go into the water, and her memories of Caleb (but be careful of having too many memories, as they can impede the pace). She’s a fun character and she also provides nice insight for Cora (be true to self). At the end she undergoes a strong character transformation as she learns to move on.
Bee is a delight and she also acts as a mentor and as a guide. She has some very insightful dialogue that contains solid subtext (around page 46).
Jesse has his own charm. The “fish” gift is funny. Chicka is another colorful character that shines. Sofia is very well established as being self-absorbed. She’s emotionally awkward and stuck. It would be nice to see more of her later in the script. She’s clearly driven by ambition and at the end she accepts her daughter’s hug providing a hint to her arc.
Tyson is underused as a character and there’s more room for development.
The script has some minor typos and formatting issues. The word “Mannequin” appears misspelled. On page 73, there’s an extra “Cora” character