- Type
- Short Film
Backflip
Amy Pittman, age twelve and 150 pounds, has an absurd dream. All she wants is to land a back flip at the gymnastics tournament while her parents are watching.
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Amy Pittman doesn't believe in the word "can't." At twelve years old and 150 pounds, it's hard enough for Amy to fit in with her peers, let alone accomplish something only she believes she can do -- a back flip. Amidst the Brady Bunch backdrop of suburban sprawl, Amy's parents have enough problems of their own. Sylvia Pittman works hard to fit in with the other mothers, who do not completely accept her into their fashionable circles. Greg, Amy's father, has all but given in to the demise of his marriage and his mundane job -- instead, sending his focus outside of his family and into his extramarital affair.
Even though they sleep under the same roof, the Pittman family members all live in separate worlds. Amy spends night after night in her living room, watching gymnastics on television and practicing her back flips. Sylvia chain-smokes and talks on the phone, trying her best at an ill-fated cosmetics career. Greg finds escape from his computer technical support job and failing marriage in the arms of another woman.
Being teased by her peers doesn't deter Amy from accomplishing her goal to perform a successful back flip at the upcoming gymnastics meet. She has the support of her best friend, the effeminate outsider Todd. When all the girls on her team make fun of Amy, Todd stands up to them. After practice one night, Greg gets dumped with the job of picking up Amy from school. When Amy finds lipstick in the car's glove box that doesn't belong to her mother, she and her father come to an understanding about Greg's relationship with Sylvia.
As the gymnastics meet approaches, Amy overhears some teammates talking about getting their first period during practice. She begins to wonder if there is a link between doing a back flip and hitting puberty.
As much as Sylvia wants to avoid being embarrassed by her daughter's performance, through a series of mishaps she is forced to pick up her car keys from Greg while he attends the gymnastics meet. In front of both of her parents and the entire gymnasium full of on-lookers, Amy tries her best to land a back flip. Nevertheless, she fails to execute it and falls flat on her face.
Sylvia escapes her daughter's embarrassment by fleeing the scene without saying a word to Amy. Greg and Amy walk home alone. Although Amy is hurt by her mother's departure, Greg is there for her when she needs a parent most.
Even though they sleep under the same roof, the Pittman family members all live in separate worlds. Amy spends night after night in her living room, watching gymnastics on television and practicing her back flips. Sylvia chain-smokes and talks on the phone, trying her best at an ill-fated cosmetics career. Greg finds escape from his computer technical support job and failing marriage in the arms of another woman.
Being teased by her peers doesn't deter Amy from accomplishing her goal to perform a successful back flip at the upcoming gymnastics meet. She has the support of her best friend, the effeminate outsider Todd. When all the girls on her team make fun of Amy, Todd stands up to them. After practice one night, Greg gets dumped with the job of picking up Amy from school. When Amy finds lipstick in the car's glove box that doesn't belong to her mother, she and her father come to an understanding about Greg's relationship with Sylvia.
As the gymnastics meet approaches, Amy overhears some teammates talking about getting their first period during practice. She begins to wonder if there is a link between doing a back flip and hitting puberty.
As much as Sylvia wants to avoid being embarrassed by her daughter's performance, through a series of mishaps she is forced to pick up her car keys from Greg while he attends the gymnastics meet. In front of both of her parents and the entire gymnasium full of on-lookers, Amy tries her best to land a back flip. Nevertheless, she fails to execute it and falls flat on her face.
Sylvia escapes her daughter's embarrassment by fleeing the scene without saying a word to Amy. Greg and Amy walk home alone. Although Amy is hurt by her mother's departure, Greg is there for her when she needs a parent most.
Comments (11)
robin wilby love this idea. good luck, guys!
May 21, 2009Desiree Akhavan Hey Nathan, thanks for the kind words. I enjoyed your script. Amy reminds me a lot of myself at 12, only with me it was a forward roll. Which is a lot more pathetic than not being able to do a backflip. And I gave myself a nosebleed trying to do one in gym class. And my gym teacher, Mr. Love, wasn't a quiet source of moral support. He told me to give up. Ahh, youth.
May 21, 2009Karen McIntosh and....another 5 stars !
May 21, 2009Karen McIntosh Another 5 stars !
May 21, 2009Karen McIntosh Keep those 5 stars coming !
May 21, 2009Karen McIntosh Hang in there....you are above and beyond ! 5 stars, for sure !!!!
May 20, 2009Karen McIntosh Great short ! I'm very proud of you and your work. Keep it up !
May 19, 2009Nathan Adloff It seems I went over the character limit in that last comment. Here's the last bit of it:
May 14, 2009---
With this addition, Sylvia (as painful as it is for her), feels for Amy ever so slightly. After discussing, Justin and I agree the hint of empathy Sylvia expresses towards Amy was justified. However, we strongly feel that an interaction in which Sylvia encourages Amy in some way to her face would be too much. A character so stuck in her negative and self-centered ways would require much more time and persistency from Amy to show.
We're saving that for the feature-length version!
Thank you and all the best,
Nathan Adloff
Nathan Adloff Alrighty! Justin and I have found two opportunities to allow Sylvia to become a touch more human. She's still a flippant wife and mother, but now a hint of sensitivity shows through. The revised script is currently converting and will show up on my page shortly. Since the deadline is well within view, I wanted to call out those changes right here for you all to see! The added parts are surrounded by brackets: "[" and "]".
May 14, 2009In scene 13, we've added a line:
---
INT. AMY'S BEDROOM - MORNING
Amy rushes down the stairs with her jacket half on and her backpack in-hand. Sylvia waits at the front door, which is half open. She has her foot out the door, holding it open, jingling her keys a bit annoyingly.
SYLVIA
Faster. We should be pulling out
of the driveway by now! [I don't
know why I am the only family
disciplinarian.]
---
A very minor addition here shows that Sylvia does see herself as a concerned parent, simply in the fact that she uses the word "family".
And on towards the end of the film, Sylvia expresses some slight reinforcement:
(This is during the Gymnastics meet, just after Amy fails at performing a proper back flip.)
---
End of Scene 39:
ANNOUNCER
Thank you, Amy, for the great effort. Let's give Amy a round of applause.
TODD
(walking toward her)
You're great.
Amy smiles at Todd. He puts his arm around her. Sylvia approaches Greg.
PARENT (O.C.)
Isn't that your daughter?
SYLVIA
(to Greg)
I said five on the dot.
Sylvia turns back to Greg.
SYLVIA
[ Please tell her it's good that she
tried. ]
GREG
[ You should tell her yourself. ]
SYLVIA
[ It will mean more coming from you, I'm afraid. ]
Sylvia grabs the car keys from Greg and rushes out the door.
---
With this addition, Sylvia (as painful as it is for her), feels for Amy ever so slightly. After discussing, Justin and I agree the hint of empathy Sylvia expresses towards Amy was justified. However, we strongly feel that an interaction in which Sylvia en
Nathan Adloff Some very appreciated feedback, Leo! We wanted to steer clear of the typical, or expected change in the mother. I don't believe all hope is lost for a better relationship between Amy and her mother, but at this point in their lives, Sylvia isn't budging. She is way too immersed in the lives of others and their judgements of her. We do believe Amy will keep at the gymnastics thing and eventually perform her back flip. I think at that point, proving her mother wrong, we would start to see Sylvia playing a more supportive role in Amy's life ...Perhaps in a feature-length version? :)
May 14, 2009On the flip side, we are discussing this as I'm typing and may make some slight revisions and re-submit before 11:30 tonight.
Thanks again Leo!