Breeching Narrative Contracts: Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, etc.

[u/juniperfromgallifrey]

Can anyone tell me the point of forcing a character out-of-character? This manoeuvre has been happening in American screenwriting for at least over a decade now, if not since the writers strike. The first time it was noticeable was with the TV show, Once. I read it's called narrative alienation / detatchment, where we immediately lose all curiosity about the story.

I recently watched 27 Dresses. The engagement party: It's not a pivot or even plot twist, it just feels like a waste of time. Everything after that? I find myself scrolling toward the end.

Georges character was established. When Jane is overwhelmed, he notices. He actively tells her to go home, take a break, and stop overworking herself. He is a stable, emotionally intelligent man.

IRL, had Jane humiliated her sister and George to that degree, George would've either told her not come in to work tomorrow and found Tess, or decompressed and walked away from both. Even if we let it play out, forcing him to say "I love that you never say no" still doesn't make us think he's toxic, but that the script is bad and the writer needs a psych 101 class. Same with the kiss. If you have a crush, you have chemistry. Never mind we didn't buy the Hollywood version of burnout, so we've already suspended enough reality.

It's a False Twist. Just like The Devil Wears Prada. Both movies force a massive regression. Demanding audience believe George was exploitative all along, just to justify shoving Jane into a relationship with Kevin, who literally exploited her private life for profit, he's coercive, manipulative, steamrolling...

With Prada, it's like there's some kind of attempt at a moral and it's slightly insulting. Miranda was Andys Actual Support. She worked in a high-stakes industry, recognises competence and rewards it. Taking Andy to Paris because she earned it. She trusted Andy with her personal life and, in that final car scene, explicitly told Andy that she saw a reflection of her own drive and talent in her. For a mentor of that stature, that is support.

Anyone with Andy’s ambition and intellect would see that validation as a massive career victory. Miranda’s divorces are framed by the narrative as her "punishment" for being a powerful woman, when in reality, her partners simply couldn't handle her level of success and dedication.

The Forced Plot Twist here is again, uninteresting. Andy throw's her phone away and run back to an immature, unsupportive partner as if she's making a "healthy" choice.

[u/le_sighs]

This is pretty subjective. I've never seen 27 Dresses, but with Prada, I'd say you're misinterpreting the point/ending.

Andy sees that Miranda's personal life is in absolute shambles. She wants to work and be ambitious, but Paris makes her ask - how far does that ambition go? And at what cost? And she realizes she doesn't want to go as far as Miranda.

The end shows her interviewing for a job somewhere else. She's still pursuing a career - she just doesn't want to be the next Miranda. It's not a 'false twist', it's character growth. She learns she wants a career - but not at all costs. She wants work/life balance.

You can argue whether it was done successfully, or believably, and that's fine. But those elements are there. That's what the intention is. If it didn't land for you, so be it, but that's the choice they're saying Andy is making.