Some time ago, I read an article on a dreadful hack screenplay writers’ convention known as a “California scene.” This is any scene in a film wherein all the action of the story abruptly stops so that a particular character can deliver a monologue about their personal history, one that is supposed to make a wooden character more sympathetic to the audience, but has nothing to do with the rest of the events of the movie. (The name “California scene” refers to the rather annoying habit of a certain type of Californian resident to casually share their most personal, awkward, traumatic memories or experiences to anyone, even casual acquaintances or people they’ve just met, at the drop of the hat in the hopes that they will appear to be “really deep.”)
The article mentioned the original Gremlins as an example: The evil gremlins are merrily destroying the town and wreaking havoc on the citizenry. The two stars (Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates) are trapped in a room by the little creatures. Apropos of nothing, Phoebe Cates launches into a long, detailed description of a Christmas eve night many years earlier in which her father died while wearing a Santa Claus suit. The scene is supposed to make Cates’ character more sympathetic to the films’ audience. But the story she relates has nothing whatsoever to do with the events taking place around her. Audience reactions to Cates’ monologue were typically “So what? You’re trapped by a swarm of evil little monsters! Forget about your dad!”
Anyway, last night I rented the flick “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss” starring in the title role - the guy who plays Jack on “Will & Grace.” There is one scene in which “Billy” is spending time with a guy he has a crush on. Billy is a photographer, and the guy he’s smitten with asks him questions about his camera. Billy states “There’s a story about it…” Suddenly, the scene (literally) stops short, the lights dim, and Billy is alone on the screen, and he narrates a woeful tale about how his mother tried to throw a birthday party for him when he was 8, but nobody came, and his mother bought him the camera to make him feel better…blah, blah, blah.
I practically jumped out of my chair and yelled “California scene!” Not only was this monologue a jarring break in the movie, but it was obviously thrown in to pad an otherwise thin plot, and was frankly implausible (wayyyy too much information to share on a quasi-first date.)
So, I’m interested, anyone else spot any “California scenes” in flicks they’ve seen?