Well, I'll throw out an obvious one I saw.. Friendship. (I would say that Helen tries to buy friendship)

CP: Friendship, absolutely an important theme. And again -- riffing off a thought I had last night -- I wonder if on some level what Annie experiences in the seemingly perfect, yet inauthentic friendship between Helen and Lillian, impacts her thinking about her seemingly perfect, yet inauthentic lover in Ted? Her attempt at a romance with Ted is as lacking in substance as Helen's is with Lillian (at least Helen's attempt to unseat Annie as Lillian's best friend). Likewise might she see the 'truth' in the relationship she [Annie] has with Lillian, as goofy and common as it is, as a means toward her eventual embrace of Rhodes as a lover.

Hey, I heard from Billy Mernit. Here's how we can proceed. Whatever questions you have about the shift in content from the script to the movie, post them here. I will aggregate them and pass them onto Billy, and get his take on some of them. My first question: What was the rationale behind dropping the Vegas sequence? What questions do you have?

I think you mentioned that in one of your posts last night. And when I read that.. I could immediately see the parallel. Which makes sense.. She needs to be authentic in all aspects of her life.. she needs to be herself..

Themes - I guess I read the theme as being outward appearances versus inward reality. Ted seems like the perfect lover, but their relationship is fake and manipulative: Rhodes is quirky, a cop (earns less, etc), but their relationship is founded on something genuine. Helen provides the outward simulation of a perfect maid of honour, providing the dresses, bridal shower and bachelorette party you'd expect if you read too many upmarket bridal magazines - but Annie is the one who understands Lillian and can help her when she cracks up and disappears, because their friendship is genuine. So I guess the thematic conclusion is that old classic, it isn't the outside that matters, but the inside...?

I haven't seen the film so I can't ask any questions about the differences... however, I am curious about your (Billy's) view on this particular draft. It seems that earlier this week we came to the conclusion that even though it is really rough, there was something in there that would eventually become a movie. Did you feel the same way after reading this? Also, at what point were you brought in as a consultant? Was this the first draft you read?

The financial and class inequality between Annie and Helen was a major element of the conflict, yet in the end it seemed sort of glossed over. I am very interested to know about any discussion during the development process regarding various ways of handling that issue? I'm also curious whether there was any concern about Lillian's character becoming too unsympathetic, especially during the height of her bridezilla phase? Annie's friendship with Lillian is the crux of the story, but when Lillian is so oblivious to the financial and emotional strain she's placing on her best friend, is that friendship still worth rooting for?

Good questions. I'll add to the list for Billy Mernit.

Authentic vs inauthentic I think works great as theme, maybe book versus cover. So fun, about Billy Mernit's involvement. For questions to ask, how about, what did Billy find most surprising about the script when he first read it, and what did he find most surprising or unusual about the development process. Billy's last site post is stellar, highlights Ira Glass, on getting good at what you do, "it is only by going through a volume of work", you will get good, more here. Write, write, write.

Questions for Billy Mernit: How and why did the bakery backstory come to be added? Was the script changed much once it had been cast? (Clearly there were small fixes, like a couple of lines to account for Chris O Dowd's Irishness, but were any of the more profound changes in the movie version due to casting decisions?)

I've forwarded a list of the above questions and others from our week's analysis / comments to Billy Mernit. We'll see what he sends back [he has to be sensitive to proprietary issues in terms of studio and development process], so likely won't be able to answer everything.

Debbie, that's pretty much along the lines of my take of the central theme of the story. As I've noted elsewhere -- and didn't realize it until I went through this process with all of you! -- there is a dual set of character relationships: * Ted vs. Rhodes: Both are Attractor figures, the former representing Annie's idealized notion of what love is, the latter representing a more honest, realistic version of love. Annie begins still clinging to the infantile notion of love in the form of her dalliances with Ted, but over time learns that does not reflect who she is (authentically) nor who she should be with, so she ends up with Rhodes. * Annie vs. Helen: Like Ted, Helen represents an idealized version of what weddings [and by extension marriage} are about. Annie's increasing distaste for Helen and her world view helps Annie to (A) accept herself including her limited dreams (dump Ted, go back to school, start to work at a bakery) and (B) embrace Rhodes as someone she can truly grow to love. So the general movement for Annie is starting on the surface of life, then through her experiences, going below the surface, seeing all the scratches and scars, mistakes and mars, then accepting that as who she is, who she should be, and who she should be with. BTW, this whole point is underscored when she forgives Helen for being an ass, then works together with the entire group of bridesmaids to find Lillian and save the wedding. In other words, there is no such thing as perfection, these are the people in our lives, and this is where real life life is.

I felt Rhodes was a really good character that cared about Annie and it would seem others as well. He cared when people didn't do the right thing to protect themselves and others. He had temptations to want the moon pies but he fought them. He showed that he could stay true to his goals and do what was right for himself. Thematically along the same lines, but until I really thought about it now I didn't realize the depth that he had provided and the example he was for Annie to see.