WARNING: Do not read further if you haven’t seen the movie Annapolis and plan to do so because I will totally ruin it for you by revealing major plot points and the ending. Otherwise, read on.

The DH and I watched this last night. I was watching as much for the “Annapolis experience” as anything. Not brilliant, but it was okay. There were some very good moments. When the one plebe outed the other for not showering. When the one guy jumped because he hadn’t passed the training requirements in the allotted time – the DH teared up because it reminded him of a similar incident when he went through Ranger training many moons ago. When the hero plebe was going up against the badass company commander in the pivotal fight scene, the DH looked over at me and said, “Okay, you’re the writer. Is he going to win?”

“Not if the writer does a good job. He should lose. I’d write it for him to lose because otherwise it’s too pat.”

He lost and the movie rolled on. Then…at the end…final scene…this plebe hero and his love interest, who happens to be an instructor, stand on the steps of a building, albeit behind a column, but there are other cadets around and they…kiss. WTF? The DH and I both looked at the screen and yelled, “NO!” at the same time. No, no, and no! This would have seriously jeopardized their respective standings at the Naval Academy. And the two characters I just watched for two hours wouldn’t have done this. It would’ve been so much more effective if they’d exchanged a look that clearly told each other, and the audience, that they’d like to exchange a kiss and one day in private they would exchange a kiss. Aaarrrgh! It was irresponsible writing. In one moment of gratuitous writing, the entire movie was invalidated for me.

IMO, a writer has an obligation. No, I don’t think a writer should write a scene because he/she thinks that’s the way the reader wants it written. A scene should be written a particular way because that’s the way the story and characters dictate it should be written. It’s a writer’s obligation to stay true to the story and the characters. If characters don’t stay true to themselves, it should be well-motivated. If a writer lives up to this obligation, then reader, or viewer, satisfaction should follow.

Whew…well, I feel better now. And I’m off to try to live up to my obligations on my current manuscript.