Subplots Create Depth

What if your screenplay is a character piece, and based upon the emotional lives of the characters?

This is where subplotting becomes crucial.

The structure of "Jerry Maguire" is unusual in that the subplot about Jerry and Dorothy's relationship almost completely takes over the second half of Act Two. The main plot about Jerry's struggles as an agent, shown through his management of Tidwell's career, predominates the first half of Act Two, then lurks in the background until Act Three. Notice how the subplot parallels and intertwines with the plot.

"Jerry Maguire"

• First 1/2
  Subact 1: After a vicious race between Jerry and rival agent Bob Sugar to secure clients, Jerry gets only a single athlete, football player Rod Tidwell, to sign with him.
  Subplot 1: Dorothy Boyd, moved by his Mission Statement, quits the agency to join with Jerry.
  Subact 2: Jerry gets Cushman, a hot draft pick, to verbally commit to him.
  Subplot 2: Dorothy's sister lectures her on taking financial risk by joining Jerry, when she has her son, Ray, to think of.
  Subact 3: Jerry goes with Cushman and Tidwell to the football draft.
  Subplot 3: Dorothy begins to realize that she has feelings for Jerry.

• Plot Midpoint: Jerry discovers he has lost Cushman to Bob Sugar.
  Subplot Midpoint: Jerry dumps his fiancée, Avery, making him available.

• Second 1/2
  Subact 1: Tidwell reaffirms his commitment to staying with Jerry.
  Subplot 1: Jerry, drunk and feeling sorry for himself, arrives at Dorothy's house for consolation. They kiss, but part on uncertain terms.
  Subact 2: Tidwell gets a renegotiation offer that is too small.
  Subplot 2: Jerry and Dorothy sleep together, and Dorothy declares to her sister her love for Jerry. Dorothy gets a job offer in San Diego, and prepares to move. Jerry, at a loss, proposes to her.
  Subact 3: Tidwell has a rough game; his future looks uncertain.
  Subplot 3: Jerry and Dorothy get married.

The main themes of Jerry Maguire are loyalty and intimacy. The plot illustrates the first theme through the ups and downs of his career:

• Jerry's Mission Statement is about how people (and loyalty to them) are more important than money.
• Bob Sugar is completely disloyal to Jerry, and only cares about money.
• Tidwell and Jerry each respect their loyalty to the other.
• Cushman first commits to Jerry, but has no loyalty to him, and quickly sells out to Sugar.

The subplot shows Jerry's struggle with intimacy through the tribulations of his love-life:

• Avery makes Jerry uncomfortable with her brutal honesty, which she mistakes for real intimacy.
• Jerry marries Dorothy because of her loyalty and his fear of being alone. He confuses her friendship with intimacy.
• In contrast to Jerry and Dorothy's uneasy marriage, Tidwell and his wife Marcee are the picture of comfortable intimacy.

There are two other subplots of note, which fulfill the important function of dimensionalizing Jerry and Dorothy:

• Interaction between Jerry and Avery comprises its own tiny subplot-line, which in addition to the theme of loyalty, also touches on the issue of Jerry's failing self-confidence by contrasting him with Avery's unflinching überwoman personality.
• Scenes with Dorothy's sister and her women's group comprise another small thematic subplot, that of a group of women whose bitter cynicism about love contrasts with Dorothy eternally hopeful romanticism.

In overview, it can be said that the main function of subplots is to reveal character. To do this, subplots:

• Flesh out characters' emotional lives.
• Dimensionalize characters by showing how they interact with others.
• Give characters a chance to reveal their thoughts and philosophies.

Effectively utilizing subplot can give you vivid and strong directions to take your story other than simply having one adventure after the next befall your characters. When creating subplots, tie them into larger themes to make an interrelated and resonant complete picture.

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