I saw this short at Sundance 2006 and I was immediately struck by the feeling that I had seen it before. Sure, the production value was good and it was funny, but "Dealbreaker" was anything but original. Of course the "horrible boyfriends" thing has been done before, but there were a few specific story lines that were literally identical to scenes from "Sex & the City." The two I can think of now -- the baby-talker and the bathroom scene -- were so blatantly the same as "Sex" that many people in the audience noticed it. A woman sitting behind me was vocal about her disappointment and we both agreed that some of the writing in "Dealbreaker" was bordering on plagiarism.
All I know is that if I had written "Dealbreaker" in my screen writing class I wouldn't have gotten away with it. I can only assume that because of the big names associated with this short (Gwenyth Paltrow and Glamour Magazine) these issues were swept under the rug. Altogether, it was a huge disappointment and I'm surprised Sundance allowed it in the festival.
All I know is that if I had written "Dealbreaker" in my screen writing class I wouldn't have gotten away with it. I can only assume that because of the big names associated with this short (Gwenyth Paltrow and Glamour Magazine) these issues were swept under the rug. Altogether, it was a huge disappointment and I'm surprised Sundance allowed it in the festival.