Story Type: Fish Out Of Water (FOOW)
When a central character finds themselves WAY out of their natural element.
When a central character finds themselves WAY out of their natural element.
Fish Out Of Water. Or as I like to call it: FOOW. Think stranger in a strange land. The classic FOOW picture is probably Splash, but there variations on the theme.
Often the set-up involves an ordinary person being thrust into an extraordinary circumstance. Some examples: Beverly Hills Cop, Mrs. Doubtfire, Back to the Future, Mulan, Miss Congeniality.
Sometimes the extraordinary visits the world of the ordinary such Home Alone, Ghostbusters, Three Men and a Baby, The Santa Clause, Big, Jumanji.
Of course, FOOW storylines lend themselves to comedies, but there are plenty of other genres represented as well: Jurassic Park, The Exorcist, Cast Away, Jaws, The Matrix.
Why has this story type proved to be popular?
(1) The collision of two worlds, in this case that of a character and a situation, virtually ensure there will be conflict in the story as the Protagonist flails around, attempting to gain their footing.
(2) The concept also provides a perfect set-up for its own version of the transformation storyline, as the Protagonist becomes more comfortable in the new environment and adapts into a new, different person.
(3) Studios like this conceptual story element because it makes it much easier to market the movie — take Movie Star A, plunk them in Exotic Locale B, boom — there’s a big part of your marketing campaign.
Finally, it plays to the fantasy quality of movies: What if I was thrust into a circumstance like that? How would I act? What would I feel? In other words, FOOW stories are a great way of creating a sense of audience participation in the story universe.
What other FOOW movies come to mind?
For other Story Type articles, go here.