Three Act Structure

In Hollywood the 3 act structure is pretty prevalent amongst films in the drama genre, as it was derived from the classical dramatic (tragic) structure. The drama I chose was the movie Varsity Blues. The reason I chose Varsity blues is because the 3 act structure is great for quest stories, triumph stories, and happy ending stories as well. Varsity Blues contains all three of these elements, making it pretty easy to lay out the components of the film in the 3 act structure. The 3 act structure is as follows: there is plot point number one, plot point number two, and the climax. Varsity Blues begins in a small west Texas town based around a high school football team with high expectations for the upcoming season. The star quarterback, Lance has a state championship to win and a full-ride scholarship to college football powerhouse Florida State in his sights. In the beginning of the movie everything is going as planned for the West Canaan Coyotes, until Lance gets hurt in the beginning of the season  it ends the first act. It escalates the stakes, because now the team is going to still have to produce with much less talent then before. It adds complication as well because no one knows how the team is going to fair for the season, or if they are going to live up to expectations. The second plot point is when back up quarterback and best friend of starting quarterback, Johnny Moxon takes the field. Moxon is a studious high schooler waiting to hear back from his college of choice, Brown University. As Moxon goes through the season he does well winning all but one game putting them in contention of their preseason goals. Everything seems to be going well and on track at the point in the movie. The second plot point ends with Moxon receiving his letter of acceptance from Brown University and a full academic scholarship to go along with his acceptance. This plot point ends with audience wondering whether Moxon is going play his best, as he already received what he wanted, a one way ticket out of his small hometown. Leaving complication lingering of whether the protagonist will be a true sports hero, or a quitter.

The last plot point and the climax of the movie is when, Coach Bud Kilmer threatens Moxon by saying that he will mess up his college transcripts and get his scholarship revoked if he doesn't play the last game of the season with absolute intensity. He also threatens him, by saying if he changes the plays called by the coach he will mess up his shot at the educational experience he has wanted for so long. Moxon has a big dilemma as he hates the coach and doesn't want to play for him, but would do anything to keep his scholarship. This is where the protagonist has to chose the outcome of his situation and the ending of the story as well. The Climax point ends with kinda of a shocker, The coach ends up quitting before the quarterback. Moxon chooses to play his best and the Coyotes win the game and he keeps his scholarship, displaying the happy ending kind of movie Varsity Blues was. The movie fit the needs of the protagonist, the team, the fans, and most importantly the audience. Varsity Blues also has many standard hollywood narratives attatched to it.  It has a single protagonist, Johnny Moxon. It is goal oriented as the goal is to win the championship, which they succeed in. Follows the 3 act structure very well. Has a clear chronological order, but most importantly a clear resolution and a happy ending.

Here is a video showing all the action this dramatic sports thriller contains:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSSCkTiRwxo&feature=related