Anatomy of a Hallmark Movie

Anatomy of a Hallmark Movie

Although people think of these movies as comfortable shoes, Hallmark follows Hollywood guidelines. Movies and plays are made for profit. Two thousand four hundred years ago, our most brilliant philosopher, Aristotle, discovered what people enjoy and why they enjoyed it. We want to identify, have empathy for, and emote with the characters. We live a three-act play. We grow up, have productive middle years, then slow down and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Making a movie or play usually doesn’t follow a lifetime, not if you’d like to tell a story that lasts 90 minutes. No matter the time, it’s about overcoming obstacles to reach a goal or goals. Aristotle discovered that most problems demand a solution in which the protagonist has time left over to enjoy the fruits of victory, because the audience usually wants to see the protagonist rewarded. Remember, a play or movie is most often life changing. Not a life story.

There are two types of story.

1. The hero and/or heroine struggle with themselves (interior) and/or other people. Nothing else in the physical world changes.

2. The hero and/or heroine struggle with interior and exterior threats (as in all Hallmarks).

The first type is hard to sell to a producer and for that matter to readers. All stories have endings. Most are happy or satisfying.

Some say Hallmark is predictable, but so are all the genre movies made in Hollywood. A good Hallmark will deliver a few surprises or twists and other entertainment along the way to a HEA (happily ever after).

A “two hour” Hallmark movie, minus commercials, is approximately 1:20 to 1:30 minutes long. Act 1 is the set-up and takes you at around minute 17 through 20 to the first commercials (around 5 minutes worth).

Act 1 includes introducing:

1. The settings.

2.The hero and his challenges.

3. The heroine and her challenges.

4. Usually the most important reflection characters. The reflection character is known by many names: Sidekick, wizard, spirit, mystical creature, family, co-worker, buddy, kid. As an example, at a wedding the kid sitting among kids and next to the hero and heroine (the only two adults at the table) says something about how the hero and that pretty lady (the only two adults at the table) are meant for each other. Reflection characters usually present the dual story question and never stop pestering until the hero and/or heroine get it right. “What’s stopping you from finding your person? The love of your life? Soulmate, etc.?”

5. Both the main interior and exterior problems are identified. Basically, this is the plot.

6. There is a scene in most romantic comedies that bring the hero and heroine together for a short time and generally in a humorous way:

6a. The cute-meet, also known as the meet-cute. Most of the time this often funny scene—the cute-meet—sets them at odds, either immediately or a short time later.

6b. A disaster brings them together.

6c. The fake-out. This technique shows someone other than the hero or heroine cute-meeting to throw the audience off or raise the stakes.

6d. The hero and heroine, having previously known each other, meet again, usually after a substantial amount of time prior to the movie’s start.

7. The initial internal and external struggles are introduced.

Act 2 makes its way through four or five commercials. Here most scenes up-the-stakes. Every scene explores the hero and heroine’s goals motivations and conflicts. It brings you to the dark moment (where all is lost) somewhere between 1:30 and 1:49 minutes (depending on complexity and subplots). Act 2 explores a new world in which the inciting incident, in many cases, a combination of the reflection characters’ recommendations and the cute-meet, propel the story forward. This new world puts the hero and heroine together whether they like it or not. For act 2 and part of act 3 they can vary between being antagonists and protagonists against and for each other. They develop feelings, which often they submerge or deny. A good story shows the hero and heroine constantly changing in a believable way with the reflection character(s) there to argue for or against.

Toward the end of Act 2 the couple typically try to kiss. They are almost always interrupted. You may call this a Hallmark signature. Another Hallmark signature is the lack of sex. Their movies are about love and family. They portray the way to a happy life, a life worth living. The hero and heroine are shown trying on love and exploring the possibility that their opposite might change their life.

Hallmark sex goes something like this. His eyes light up as she descends the staircase in a lovely dress. He tells her how beautiful she is but not in a suggestive way. No, it’s a compliment based on earnest appreciation. Give him a break, he’s falling in love. Lust is a finely hidden subtext. Love forms in Act 2.

The dark moment or moments occur at the cusp of act 2 and 3 when the hero and/or heroine vow to go back to their old life and say so to the other. One or both are giving up. “Get out of my life.” This change in direction happens because the story keeps raising the stakes on their problems to the breaking point or through the more trivial misunderstanding.

Comic relief characters and or reflection characters (they may be the same) act as guide posts and/or sounding boards. The antagonist, if there is one—other than the doubts of hero and heroine—does his or her best to thwart the HEA. Examples of antagonists: current or old boyfriend(s)/girlfriend(s), business competitors, other suitors, the job, deadlines, conflicting goals (i.e. she wants to foreclose on his ranch), way of life, etc. Use your imagination.

Sometimes, in funnier stories, inept or goofy helpers of the antagonist are introduced.

Act 3. Usually the most developed reflection character asks why the hero and/or heroine is backing out. Any character can discover the misunderstanding or a weakness in the breaking point and reveal it. Then the hero and/or heroine try to find each other to make amends and declare their love. HEA.

Are you ready to write a romance or any other type of novel, stage, or screen play? If so, follow these guidelines. The audience expects certain exciting things to happen in the story that make them feel the pain, frustration, despair, love, change, and growth as your characters adapt to a new world introduced in Act 1.