An excerpt from my script review for Let’s Be Cops which will be available 04/14/25:
2.) Plot Stability
What I want to focus on is the “fun and games” aspect of this script, because it did it well and serves as an excellent example for new writers.
In storytelling, this is the period where your characters are off on an adventure and everything’s new and exciting.
There may be the occasional challenge to overcome, but nothing too serious yet.
In The Hero’s Journey it’s Tests, Allies, and Enemies, step 1 in Act 2.
Or Blake Snyder named it more appropriately in Save the Cat, simply Fun and Games, a point in which the main character(s) enter a world that’s upside down.
For this sort of comedy, where two adult men are pretending to be police officers in real life, things need to escalate as they get deeper and deeper into their ruse.
What starts as a mix-up between a masquerade party and costume party, leads Ryan and Justin to a taste of the power cops have over LA, a city which at this point, has all but spit them out and back to Ohio.
After being embarrassed at a Miami of Ohio alumni party (for some reason being held in Los Angeles), they go from zero to heroes walking just a few short blocks.
They confiscate teens weed, kiss an entire bridal party, and have people take notice by simply walking down the street.
From there the high jinks escalate, and Nick…er, Ryan becomes more and more committed, learning police lingo, self defense moves, and even promoting himself to sergeant.
This leads to free coffee, getting revenge on a few groups that dismissed them, and even standing courtside at a Lakers game.
Shortly before the midpoint, the two stop a shake down in their favorite local diner, becoming heroes to the local community, if only short lived.
And this is important…
Are some of the situations ridiculous and require a heavy suspension of disbelief?
Sure.
There was more than once that I questioned why no one was asking for the boys’ credentials as they did things, like check out surveillance equipment from the local police department.
But it’s a movie. Have fun with it, especially when writing an early draft.
Just as the midpoint delivers our boys to their high, so too does the next scene knock them down a few pegs, when the Russian mob boss shows up and reasserts his dominance over the community.
Remember, as fun as the beginning is, the second half must lead to consequences for that fun.
This tension is what moves your story forward.
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