Saturday, April 29, 2006

COINCIDENCE OF THE WEEK: An observation apparently no movie critic has made--aren't the plots of Akeelah and the Bee and Stick It both fundamentally the same? Both could be summarized as follows:

Misfit outcast heroine has natural talent for an endeavor, but does not wish to use it due to a personal trauma. Due to circumstances beyond her control, heroine is forced to work with a coach who at first seems to be a hardass, but actually turns out to be a good guy, fighting a personal demon. With help of coach, heroine inspires her teammates and competitors to achieve far beyond what they were expected to, and heroine's chief rival, who is involved in the endeavor for the "wrong reasons," ultimately learns the joy of playing again.

What's fascinating is that while both films are cut from that same cloth (and they're both pretty good), it's hard to imagine two more different movies. Akeelah is an earnest inspirer, designed for families, that treats the competition involved with a lot of respect and fairness. Stick It mixes its moments of inspirational hoo-hah with subversion against the very concept of gymnastics (in particular, the silliness of judging standards) and broad teen comedy. So here's a challenge--come up with two other films that share the same broad outline, but wind up being utterly divergent.

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