The 2-Guys-and-1-Girl Formula

[Rocketman]

Something I've been piecing together.

Name almost ANY major franchise, and your three central protagonists will be 2 guys and 1 girl. More often than not, one guy will hook up with the girl, while the second guy is not viewed as a sexual prospect by the girl. Maybe the second guy is there for comic relief and he can't be looked at sexually. Or maybe he's the main guy's best friend or brother.

You'll see this mostly in Fantasy and Sci-Fi. That's because Fantasy and Sci-Fi are not as accessible and relatable to most people since you're dealing with far-out, abstract concepts, so you need a trinity of characters to bring things to a human level.

And with Fantasy and Sci-Fi, more often than not, more guys will be drawn to these genres than girls. Or, two-thirds of guys will be. 66% guys, 33% girls. Or, in simpler terms, 2 guys and 1 girl. (There are obviously exceptions to this, such as Twilight and Harry Potter). For every two guys in the theater, there will probably be one girl. (One girl was dragged along with her boyfriend, while another guy is seeing it by himself.)

Again, look at the three essential main protagonists, the ones who ultimately sum up the entire franchise's story.

Star Wars (Original Trilogy):
- Luke Skywalker
- Han Solo
- Princess Leia

Star Wars (Prequel Trilogy):
- Anakin Skywalker
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Queen Amidala

Twilight:
- Bella Swan
- Edward Cullen
- Jacob Black

Harry Potter:
- Harry Potter
- Ron Weasley
- Hermione Granger

The Matrix:
- Neo
- Morpheus
- Trinity

Pirates of the Caribbean:
- Jack Sparrow
- Will Turner
- Elizabeth Swann

Spider-Man:
- Peter Parker
- Harry Osborn
- Mary-Jane Watson

Sherlock Holmes:
- Sherlock Holmes
- John Watson
- Irene Adler

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows:
- Sherlock Holmes
- John Watson
- Simza Heron

Jurassic Park:
- Alan Grant
- Ian Malcolm
- Ellie Sattler

Shrek:
- Shrek
- Donkey
- Fiona

Terminator 2:
- Terminator
- John Connor
- Sarah Connor

Titanic:(Not a franchise, but still the same, with tweaked rules)
- Jack Dawson
- Rose Bukater
- Cal Hockley

Obviously, this is not the be-all-end-all list, and I'm sure there are a dozen more, but I also acknowledge that there are plenty of franchises that don't use this golden rule (Lord of the Rings, X-Men, Terminator, Transformers, etc.)

Still, something to think about. It's a fascinating template for cranking out blockbusters.

And consider this: Think of all the unsuccessful franchises that didn't use this formula. Might they have been more successful?

So, check out these ways to sum up characters' roles:

- Jack Sparrow is kind of like the Han Solo of Pirates of the Carribean.
- Jacob Black is a little like the Harry Osborn of Twilight.
- Ian Malcolm is kind of like the Morpheus of Jurassic Park.

Again, not 100% accurate, but similar none-the-less.

BONUS POINT:
Check out The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead:
- Rick Grimes
- Shane Walsh
- Lori Grimes

 

[Asgard]

I thought this thread would be more...arousing.

Im disappointed.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Are you familiar with the Bechdel test? This thread reminds me of it.

This is more the result of a lack of women in significant roles than anything else.

 

[Rocketman]

Are you familiar with the Bechdel test? This thread reminds me of it.

This is more the result of a lack of women in significant roles than anything else.

No! Please do tell.

 

[Rocketman]

http://bechdeltest.com/

Holy crap, this is amazing!!

 

[Thundercrack85]

At first I thought it was some radical feminist bull****. But when you actually look at it, you do see a surprising number.

Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, Star Wars... all fail it.

Most comic book movies don't pass it. Hell, most movies don't pass it.

 

[Rocketman]

You can actually stretch this pretty damn far, until you're deconstructing writing itself. And when you round up the villains, they tend to be classic archetypes who are all related.

The Dark Knight:
- Bruce Wayne
- Harvey Dent
- Rachel Dawes

X-Men:
- Wolverine
- Cyclops
- Jean Grey

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom:
- Indiana Jones
- Short Round
- Willie Scott

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
- Indiana Jones
- Mutt Williams
- Marion Ravenwood

Speed Racer:
- Speed Racer
- Racer X
- Trixie

TDK and X-Men can actually have interesting tweaked rules:
- If there are a lot of allies on one side, you can still find the essential three.
- Technically, Commissioner Gordon is like the Professor X, in which case, they can't be part of a "trinity" of protagonists, since their ally roles don't make them main characters. Sticking to a love triangle will get you three protagonists. Professor X is the flipside of Magneto, so he wouldn't be in a trinity. Gordon is like the flipside of Alfred, in that they're allies to Batman.
Storm is obviously a secondary character, with no love interest.

Jesus Christ, even Inception works:

Inception:
- Cobb
- Arthur
- Ariadne

The Hunchback of Notre Dame:
- Quasimodo
- Phoebus
- Esmeralda

Aladdin:
- Aladdin
- Genie
- Jasmine

The Lion King:
- Simba
- Nala
- Mufasa

Iron Man:
- Tony Stark
- Pepper Potts
- Rhodey Rhodes

 

[WolfCypher]

I'll bite.

DC Trinity
Batman
Superman
Wonder Woman

Nintendo Trinity
Mario
Link
Samus

Thought of an exception

Archie
Archie
Betty
Veronica

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well, this is a male-dominated species. It's fairly inevitable. The number of movies with a female protagonist are very limited, and most fit into a specific genre (chick flicks). Hell back in the day of theatre (which you could argue movies are an evolution of), women weren't even allowed to act.

 

[Rocketman]

The Great Gatsby:
- Jay Gatsby
- Nick Carraway
- Daisy Buchanan

 

[Thundercrack85]

Actually some of those work on more than one level.

Mario, Luigi and Peach. Zelda, Link and Ganondorf.

Really, you'd have an easier time listing the exceptions.

 

[DACrowe]

Love triangles go back a LONG TIME:

Casablanca (1943):
Rick
Elsa
Lazlo

Gone with the Wind (1939):
Rhett
Scarlett
Ashley

Pygmalion (1912):
Henry Higgins
Eliza Doolittle
Col. Pickering

The Illiad (800 B.C.)
Paris
Helen
Menelauis

We always come back to that.

 

[dude stannis]

The Expend.... Oh wait never mind!

 

[Silvermoth]

Thelma and Louise - Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Brad Pitt.

 

[cherokeesam]

Love triangles go back a LONG TIME:

Casablanca (1943):
Rick
Elsa
Lazlo

Gone with the Wind (1939):
Rhett
Scarlett
Ashley

Pygmalion (1912):
Henry Higgins
Eliza Doolittle
Col. Pickering

The Illiad (800 B.C.)
Paris
Helen
Menelauis

We always come back to that.

Exactly.

Are some people just now figuring out that a love triangle is the oldest cliche in the book?

 

[Eddie Dean]

Buy, may I ask, where is the pizza place?

 

[BruceWanner]

Buy, may I ask, where is the pizza place?

 

[Wadjet]

Buy, may I ask, where is the pizza place?

I love you. I hope it's not too soon to say that.

 

[terry78]

That bechdel test thing is interesting. You actually have to work to find a movie where there are two chicks talking and the focus of conversation isn't about a dude or a dude-related topic.

 

[dark_b]

That bechdel test thing is interesting. You actually have to work to find a movie where there are two chicks talking and the focus of conversation isn't about a dude or a dude-related topic.

the Prometheus movie has 2 chicks. it will be interesting to see t:

 

[terry78]

They'll be talking about how they both want to bang Fassbender's android.

 

[jaymes_e06]

That bechdel test thing is interesting. You actually have to work to find a movie where there are two chicks talking and the focus of conversation isn't about a dude or a dude-related topic.

Wasn't there scientific studies made to show women tend to define themselves by there relationships much more then men do so this isn't shocking at all to me.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Love triangles go back a LONG TIME:

Casablanca (1943):
Rick
Elsa
Lazlo

Gone with the Wind (1939):
Rhett
Scarlett
Ashley

Pygmalion (1912):
Henry Higgins
Eliza Doolittle
Col. Pickering

The Illiad (800 B.C.)
Paris
Helen
Menelauis

We always come back to that.

Osiris/Isis/Seth from Egyptian mythology is the earliest example I can think of. This idea goes back thousands of years.

 

[Rocketman]

Osiris/Isis/Seth from Egyptian mythology is the earliest example I can think of. This idea goes back thousands of years.

Tell me more! I'm interested in Egyptian mythology.

 

[terry78]

Tell me more! I'm interested in Egyptian mythology.

Things a girl will never say to a man at a bar.