Hey, quick question. I have this story that has to do a bit with Henry Winkler and Fonzie's leather coat. Now, this is a wacky comedy, very broad, and things don't really have to adhere to the rules of the real world. Think Hot Rod or Brother's Solomon, or even Austin Powers, but slightly toned down.

Anyway, in the story, the jacket has actual power. See, it's not just that The Fonz was cool on his own, it's that Henry Winkler was cool BECAUSE of the jacket. The jacket has the ability to make the wearer indefinably cool.

Also, there's this legend that we the audience learn is true. Basically, it says that the leather used to make the jacket has been around forever. Like, the opening scene is of a caveman finding the hide, donning it, and becoming caveman cool. We then follow the hide through time, see it become the jacket, and finally end at its final resting place: framed in a display case in Henry Winkler's mansion.

So, my question is: which, if any, of those two elements would you not accept, even in a wacky comedy?

Because I would have thought that if you accept that a jacket actually makes you cool, then believing that that same jacket has a history dating back to the dawn of time is no problem. But apparaently, that's not necessarily the case. For example, my fiancee says, "Sure, yeah. The jacket makes you cool. But wait, the leather wouldn't still be in tact; it would have disintegrated over time." And I agree. It would have. Except, we're talking about a jacket that actually has magical powers, so I'm cool with it having longevity as well.

So, where do you stand? Should I dispense with the legend? If I keep the legend, do I really have to add a scene explaining that I, the writer, am aware that normal leather would have disintegrated? Would you never in a million years accept that Fonzie's jacket actually makes the wearer cool? Let me know.

Thanks.

-- lifedoesntimitate

Speaking as someone who grew up with Happy days, I love this idea. It has a lot of potential.

Regarding the 'history' of the jacket...I think it could work, depending on how it's done. I can't be of much help idea-wise right now (which might not be what you're looking for anyway.) My suggestion, though, is to go for it and see how it plays out. You can change/cut later on if it's not working for you.

I say go for it!

Just one small thing, the jacket is actually at the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington D.C. You could always get around this by showing Henry Winkler switching the jacket out in order to stay "cool".

And there has to be a suspended disbelief of reality, so definitely, go for it.
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Dearly Beloved Script Frenzy! 2007 Winner!

Heh. I was totally hoping somebody would mention this, because I've done some research and now I can amaze you all with how awesome I am. Yes. The jacket is at the Smithsonian, but it's not the only jacket. All this is true as far as I can tell, by the way.

See, Henry Winkler donated the jacket to the Smithsonian in 1981 or so, requiring the show to supply him with a new jacket for the last three years of the show. But even the one he donated wasn't the original. They had to make duplicates for things like when he jumped the shark, because the jacket would get wet and ruined. There were actually four or five different jackets used during the run of the show.

But what of the original, you ask? Well, the original coat was actually stolen from the set back toward the beginning of its use. I may do some research to see if it is now known who stole it, but I really hope no one ever figured it out. Because, you see, the way I see it is that a young Henry Winkler, realizing the power of the thing, stole the coat himself, saving it for the day that he might need it. This is that story...

Thank you all for your responses. Keep 'em coming. And again, if anyone would not be able to suspend their disbelief, please let me know and let me know why. Thanks again.

-- lifedoesntimitate

That's awesome. Very Being John Malkovich-ish.

Oh, okay! The real history of the jacket is far better than something I could have come up with. Go for it! Go for it! Go for it!

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Dearly Beloved Script Frenzy! 2007 Winner!

Heh. That's hilarious. The caveman thing sounds like a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey to me, which is perfect. I say go with it.
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Screnzy '08: Ceres. It's a romantic comedy between two mad scientists in space.
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I love it! It sounds a little bit like that Jackie Chan movie "The Tuxedo", but yours actually sounds entertaining. You should have the Fonz's powers activate by doing a thumbs up and going "Aaay!" Oh, and set it in Milwaukee, since they're making a Fonzie statue there. I don't know, those are just ideas.

What we have here is... failure to communicate.
-Cool Hand Luke

Totally agree with Kellagood. I laughed aloud at the idea of a "cool" caveman.
But I'm not sure I like it ending in a frame in Henry's mansion. I was imagining the far future, and some zero-g workers repairing a space station in their space suits, then a spaceman floats into frame wearing the jacket over his space suit and says "Whats up dawgs?"

:)

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Jason
Municipal liaison for Southern California
scriptfrenzy@tactorfiction.com

Then a spaceman floats into frame wearing the jacket over his space suit and says "Whats up dawgs?"

No, then he needs to do the thumbs up thing and do "Ayyy" and then say "Sit on it!" And yes, I am a Happy Days geek.
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Dearly Beloved Script Frenzy! 2007 Winner!

Ahhh, I love you guys. I'd forgotten how great script frenzy is, so thank you all.

I'm really glad you all are digging this. I'm particularly glad that somebody mentioned a feeling of Being John Malkovich. I was thinking the same thing, but slightly differently. See, I remember years ago, reading I wanna say Roger Ebert's review of BJM, and he said something like, "The first time we actually see Malkovich, he's eating an English muffin with jam while reading The Wall Street Journal. You don't have to know too much about Malkovich to get the joke that, whatever he might be doing, he most definitely wouldn't be eating an English muffin while reading the Wall Street Journal," only he probably said that more concise. Anyway, that line was a major bit of inspiration for this story. My Henry Winkler has a twenty-something trophy girlfriend, lives in a big mansion, and refers to himself as "TV's Henry Winkler". You don't have to know much about him to know that that's probably not what he's really like.

Also, just to clarify to the person who was concerned that the ending place was the frame on Henry Winkler's wall: that is not the ending place of the movie. That is just the ending place of the opening of the movie. The story of the movie isn't really about the jacket. The story of the movie is really closer to Rocky mixed with Rocky Balboa. But the opening of the movie is: caveman cool, years go by, maybe an archeologist finds it, becomes cool enough to leave the site with it, turns it into a jacket, years go by, a costume designer picks it out for a young Henry Winkler to wear as they transition from windbreaker to leather coat (you Happy Days fans know what transition I'm talking about), and then we see the jacket on display at the Smithsonian, being talked about by a tour guide. The final twist -- of the opening sequence -- is that the actual jacket is in Henry Winkler's mansion. Why is it there? Why does he have it? Perhaps we'll find out later in the movie...

Lastly, to the person who suggested the setting be Milwaukee, unfortunately for what the story is, it has to be set in Los Angeles.

-- lifedoesntimitate