On Friday nights, my husband and I practice an ancient ritual, passed through the generations. It’s called pizza and a movie. Totally secret, right?

Though lately, we’ve had a hard time finding movies we like. And I can’t decide if that’s because we’re getting older, or because the movies have headed south. Maybe both?

Well, he brought home this movie called, The Hangover – Rated R, and I totally don’t watch rated R movies anymore. But he insisted that he’d heard it was really good. (word of mouth) So I curled up on my couch, with a pepperoni slize in one hand, and my book in the other – ready to exit at the first sign of dumb dialogue. I mean, come on, The Hangover? How good can a movie be about a bunch of guys partying in Vegas for a bachelor party?

But (gasp) I stayed for the whole movie. I actually laughed out loud. Here are the factors that hooked me and I’m sure you’ll see the obvious relation to writing.

•  Great character-specific dialogue that continually surprised me.
• Enough backstory revealed that I cared about these guys and realized that they weren’t just a bunch of immature highschool wannabes.
• Mystery revealed. The groom went missing. The movie was about solving this mystery – not about their partying. (Key point)
• The stakes were high and things kept getting worse and worse.
• The clue to solving the mystery was planted in the very beginning.
• Great relationships between the four guys. Believable.
• A suprising ending.
• True character transformation in all of them.

Has a book or movie suprised you lately?