March 2010 – complete and utter nonsense

It was only my second visit to this small, independent soup and sandwich joint when its owner won me over for life. My order in hand, I was fumbling around in my pockets and wallet to come up with the requisite $7.50 to complete the transaction and march away with my take.

My search produced only $6.00 and the woman behind the counter, who I deduced was an owner-operator in this apparent family business, could not accept payment by debit or credit. “I think I’m a little short here,” I said, looking up from my palm full of change apologetically. Without hesitation, she waved her hand in dismissal of my predicament and declared, “You will pay the difference next time.” I was stunned. We made eye contact, she smiled and I quietly left. Continue reading Trust and customer service

In the film Major League (1989), a beautifully simple premise underlies a magnificently structured plot. The unlikely heiress to the long beleaguered Cleveland Indians baseball club plots to assemble a team so pathetic that it’s inevitably horrible performance will justify moving the franchise to Miami, where she would rather live. The resulting collection of rag-tag, washed-up ball players first collides but then bonds. Then they uncover their boss’s ploy. Damned if they don’t rise above their mediocrity to win the pennant in an epic showdown with their long time nemesis, the New York Yankees. (It’s a bit late for a spoiler alert, I suppose, but the film is more than twenty years old.)

Watching the film or reading its script, you will find not a shred of unnecessary dialogue. Everything either sets up or executes a gag while advancing character and driving action. It’s a story about second chances, redemption and the prevalence of love. It’s a classically written screenplay that contains themes of which audiences never tire, dating back to Shakespeare and then before. Continue reading What happened to great storytelling?