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A review by xtinaji
Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
3.0
I've been interested in screenwriting lately, so I thought I'd pick up a quick crash course sort of book on the subject. Save the Cat gave me what I wanted: a clean, concise outline of story structure. It's a quick and easy read, and Snyder's casual tone makes it extremely approachable! He does a great job at whittling stories into a general outline, and I thought the story beats chapter was especially informative.
On the downside, I wouldn't say that Snyder is the most reputable source. He does list all of his various reason towards why and how he is credible, but the movies that he himself has put out are fairly limited in terms of scope, genre, and popularity. The examples of movies he provides are also a bit lacking in the same way, though he does offer multiple exercises at the end of each chapter to test the lessons yourself on other movies! He gives a disclaimer on Hollywood screenwriting at the beginning about the reality of Hollywood and film as a commodity, but I appreciated that he mentioned the soul-sucking, business aspect of the industry. As terrible as it is to admit that's how entertainment works, I'm nonetheless glad that Snyder reminds us to keep this business mindset in mind. It proves to me that he isn't sugarcoating or glorifying his lessons, ultimately remaining faithful to the alleged purpose of this book: help screenwriters write to sell.
Overall, I found Save the Cat to not be as insightful as I would have liked concerning storytelling itself and why such and such narrative device works, why he chose to outline movies this way. I also feel as though a lot of the book is a bit outdated now, not only in terms of the movies referenced but also in how storytelling has evolved in the last 15 years. How the industry has changed, though slowly and minimally, as well. Regardless, I thought that there were plenty of helpful nuggets of information that clarified aspects of screenwriting, and I will definitely be using some of the story beats myself as I take a film class next semester! I'd definitely recommend this book to beginners at storytelling, to youths interested in the industry, or to people who just want to gain a better understanding of the stories around them!
On the downside, I wouldn't say that Snyder is the most reputable source. He does list all of his various reason towards why and how he is credible, but the movies that he himself has put out are fairly limited in terms of scope, genre, and popularity. The examples of movies he provides are also a bit lacking in the same way, though he does offer multiple exercises at the end of each chapter to test the lessons yourself on other movies! He gives a disclaimer on Hollywood screenwriting at the beginning about the reality of Hollywood and film as a commodity, but I appreciated that he mentioned the soul-sucking, business aspect of the industry. As terrible as it is to admit that's how entertainment works, I'm nonetheless glad that Snyder reminds us to keep this business mindset in mind. It proves to me that he isn't sugarcoating or glorifying his lessons, ultimately remaining faithful to the alleged purpose of this book: help screenwriters write to sell.
Overall, I found Save the Cat to not be as insightful as I would have liked concerning storytelling itself and why such and such narrative device works, why he chose to outline movies this way. I also feel as though a lot of the book is a bit outdated now, not only in terms of the movies referenced but also in how storytelling has evolved in the last 15 years. How the industry has changed, though slowly and minimally, as well. Regardless, I thought that there were plenty of helpful nuggets of information that clarified aspects of screenwriting, and I will definitely be using some of the story beats myself as I take a film class next semester! I'd definitely recommend this book to beginners at storytelling, to youths interested in the industry, or to people who just want to gain a better understanding of the stories around them!