Plot: Twist

I found this far too amusing:
http://www.postmodernbarney.com/2009/04/uncomfortable-plot-summaries/

Thanks to Mr. Neil for the link.

I didn't even read the whole list, it's much too long. But I couldn't help but create a few of my own. Hitchcock is sorely underrepresented on the list so I focused on some of his better known works:

• Strangers on a Train: Gay man tries to help a tennis player marry his girlfriend.
• Rear Window: Despondent cripple projects his fantasies onto neighbors.
• North by Northwest: Businessman finds a new career while on vacation.
• The Trouble With Harry: Town conspires to hide murder.
• The Birds: Socialite is frightened by wildlife.
• Psycho: Son grieving for his mother is harassed by out-of-towners.

This exercise is not unlike those re-cut movie trailers in which the meaning of the plot is twisted. (ex.: "The Shining") Here, an economy of words and simplification of just one element of the plot seem to do the trick.

Here's a couple of bonus synopses for you:

• Young Frankenstein: Man falls in love with his surgeon's fiancée.
• Jaws: New guy in town prevents collapse of the local industry.