One More Scene I Made for "Win Win"

Ext. Mike's House

We see Kyle sitting on the porch in the backyard, smoking a cigarette. There is a close-up of his face and when we see him take each and every drag. Kyle then takes out his wallet. In-between a few cards, he has a few pictures. He rustles through them and takes out two pictures. He lifts a picture of he and his mom at a wrestling meet, smiling. Kyle then stares down at the ground, and then crumbles it up and then throws it in the dirt. He then finds a picture of him, with his arm raised at a wrestling meet. He smiles and then throws the cigarette on the ground, and walks back inside, with a close-up on his feet.

INT. Mike's House

We see Kyle getting ready for bed, when Mike comes down to talk.

                                       MIKE

      Are you comfortable enough?

                                        KYLE

      Yeah, everything's fine, Mike, thanks.

They stare at each other. Mike starts walking upstairs but then stops. Mike stops and stares at Kyle.

                                        MIKE

Hey if there is anything else I can do for you,

I am willing to help, and if you want you

can come by practice tomorrow.

                                         KYLE

Practice?      

                                         MIKE

I coach wrestling at the local high school.

                                        

                                         KYLE

Wow, I used to wrestle, did you?

                                          MIKE

I was okay, never a champion.

Kyle then smiles. Which caused Mike to smile because it was the first time Mike has seen Kyle smile.

                                          MIKE

Were you any good?

                                           KYLE

I was... ok.

                                            MIKE

Ok, maybe you can come by practice if you want,

maybe you can teach some of the wrestlers a thing or two.

                                            KYLE

                                         (Laughing)

   We'll see.

                                             MIKE

Great, I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you in the morning.

                                             KYLE

Ok, Mike. Wait Mike... (While Mike is walking upstairs). (Mike nods). Thanks again.

There is a sudden pause.

                                             MIKE

No problem Kyle, sleep tight.

Kyle then lays down on the bed. He then takes out his wallet, and takes out the picture of him at the wrestling meet. He smiles turns over and falls asleep, holding the picture. We then see Mike going up to his room and getting into bed with his wife, Jackie. He then turns to Jackie, holds her and they both smile.

  Synopsis:     

"Win Win" is a great story of parenthood and life. It has Mike, played by Paul Giamatti, as a father of two struggling to provide for them because he is having financial issues. He is a struggling lawyer and he does not know how long his practice is going to last. He is also a coach of wrestling at the local high school. His team is not very good but he still likes the fact that he is coaching and teaching kids his childhood sport. Later he represents a man named Leo, who is played by Burt Young. Leo is an older man with Alzheimer's but he has a lot of money. So, in order to gain some income Mike takes his guardianship. Then things go wrong from there. Leo is then put into a retirement home. Mike then meets Kyle, who is played by Alex Shaffer. Kyle is Leo's grandson, but he has run away from his mother in Ohio and he has come to live with Leo because he has never met him before. So, since Mike is Leo's guardian and Leo is not able to take care of Kyle, Kyle stays with Mike. And his wife Jackie, played by Amy Ryan, does not like this. Kyle is a really nice teenager but he smokes, and has gotten in trouble with the law before. Kyle ends up staying with them for awhile because his mother Cindy, who is played by Melanie Lynskey, is a drug addict and does not know when she is able to come to New Jersey where Mike and his family lives. After spending some time with Kyle, Mike realizes he is very good at wrestling. So, he joins the team at the high school. Mike's best friend Terry, who is played by Bobby Cannavale, also becomes an assistant coach, along with Stephen, who is played by Jeffrey Tambor. So, things are good for awhile, Kyle is doing great in school, he is doing very well on the team, and Mike and Jackie really think he is a great influence on their little ones. Then, Cindy shows up. Mike and Cindy fight over Leo's guardianship, and who should take care of Kyle. It is a great story that has a happy ending to a depressing/inspirational story.

Analysis:

The scene I chose will be right after when Mike and Jackie let Kyle stay with them, and learn about Kyle’s past and why he is reluctant about returning back to Ohio. The scene I have created is essentially to have character development, for Mike and Kyle. The opening part when we see Kyle smoking and looking at the pictures in his wallet is to show a little about Kyle. In my opinion, there needed to be a tiny bit more character development in Kyle because we get introduced to him abruptly, and we think of him as mysterious and troubled. By looking through the pictures we can see that Kyle is upset with his mother, and he does not want to go back to Ohio whatsoever. And the crumbling of the picture could be foreshadowing of what it is to come with their relationship when she gets to New Jersey. The other picture of him winning a wrestling match shows that he is decent at wrestling, and he loves the sport and misses it. He misses the glory days, and the fact that he is not living them, is getting to him, and he is letting out his angst and anger by running away, smoking, and breaking the law. The next scene in the basement is to show a few different things. Mike and Kyle like each other. Kyle thinks he can look up to Mike, and rely on him, whenever he needs it. Mike is having a somewhat mid-life crisis, and this dilemma of dealing with Leo and now Kyle, is not helping. However, after getting to know Kyle he is realizing that he is not that bad of a kid. He is a troubled kid trying to find a home, and a family that loves, and also a support system. And Mike thinks that Kyle can help him. Also, Kyle knows he is a better wrestler than he says he is, but he wants to be modest, and make sure the bad blood he had in his past does not haunt him.  And the last part is to show how Mike and Kyle are in similar situations so essentially they are both similar. Kyle goes to sleep with the picture in his hand. This shows that he wants to go back to that day, and the good times he has had. Wrestling is still important to Kyle and it is apart of him. Mike sleeping a similar way, by holding Jackie is showing that the things he cares for the most, is his family, and Jackie. They are both trying to do the best they can in the hands they are dealt with.