#heist comedy

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The Instigators (2024)

Directed by Doug Liman

Cinematography by Henry Braham

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Screencaptures from Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) || Dir. Mark Rydell

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Lift (2024)

Directed by F. Gary Gray

Cinematography by Bernhard Jasper

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

Cinematography by Barry Peterson

[casethejoint]

She Stoops to Heist Companion Media!

There's that old saying that there is nothing original under the sun. One of my writing professors likes to say that there may not be original plots, but what you do with them is original. The heist story isn't very original necessarily, but I feel like I've done a good job making my characters and my stories different from the heist movies of the past. I still find influence in those old works and some others, because we exist in the context.

Swindle

Possibly my first exposure to the heist movie. This is a Nickelodeon TV movie, that is maybe not very good as an adult. I was enamored with the cast, particularly the hacker little sister. Each character with their specialized skills was very new to me when I saw this. While the movie doesn't hold up as well as an adult, watching it as a kid burrowed it in my mind.

Ocean's Eleven

This is the heist movie. It's the one everyone knows, with actors everyone knows and narrative devices that everyone knows. The montage, the heist plan, the twist at the end. It took me a while to watch it, but it's a great time.

CHeist Night

In a similar vein as Ocean's Eleven (they're actually parodying that movie). I watched this when I was 18 I think, and it's very funny. Highly quotable. When I came up with SStH as a heist comedy, this was one of the first things I turned to for ideas. The farcicle attitude of parody makes it a little easier to figure out what jokes to make.

Cowboy Bebop

The found family aspect is something I love seeing. My band of thieves become a small family as the story goes on. I love the setting, this kind of neo-noir space western. I had originally thought about an arc set in space for my crew, but I couldn't really think of a story for it. Still, they live in neo-noir San Franscisco, so the setting of both has some crossover. I love lots of things about this series. The character dynamics, the genre-busting nature, the action scenes.

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro

This movie is a romp. It's so lighthearted and bouncy and fun to watch, it's the right attitude for my work. Inspector Zenigata was a part of the thought process behind Detective Cain, although Cain is more of an antagonist than reluctant ally. I really like the animation style, I have an image in my mind of the original three running around a corner with Jean running like Lupin does in this movie. That might be part of the opening theme.

The Bad Guys

The movie that kind of cemented my interest in heist movies. Watched this freshman year of college, before the idea of writing She Stoops became a thing. I really love this artstyle, it's a little like Lupin in that way. I think the heist crew is well thought out, particularly with the animal traits. Also, I really like when a movie or show does a story that isn't normally done in animation, which was part of my inspiration for this story.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Overtly politically progressive take on the heist movie. Except they aren't trying to steal something, they're trying to destroy something. Something I really like about this one is the way they establish why each character is involved with this. It's done in flashbacks at different points of the movie, and their reasons are all different, but they all intersect at this pipeline. Carrying a lot of this into my story.

Community

In a different tonal direction, Community's character work is very good. I mention this in the Northbound post, since this is one of those works that carry over throughout the whole body of work. Community is very well written, comedy and character wise. It's something I'll need to look to while writing the different parts of my series. Another aspect I really like is the way that episode to episode, Community is almost a whole other show entirely. They do this through homage, formula-breaking, and different character pairings.

All the Wrong Questions

This is a book series I read when I was younger. It's sort of noir-y, a more overt detective story compared to the series it stems from. I really liked the make-up of the team in these books when I was younger. The whole idea of being on your own with these like-minded peers works for the tone of the series, since both series are full of adults that are evil and/or stupid. Also, the way they use their hobbies and occupations to help the group get pretty creative. They use origami to send messages to each other!

Snatch

Snatch is a British gangster movie with a pretty large cast, but they're all their own brand of colorful weirdos. I originally heard about this movie from the YouTube Diregentleman, where the co-host pitched this movie and two others for a movie marathon in order to have a good time. This movie doesn't really have a set protagonist, and morally they are all gangsters so none of them necessarily have the high ground. The main thing was the colorful cast of weirdos that drew me in.

Night in the Woods

Really powerful themes of friendship and perserverance. This is another one with really complex characters that have different but similar motives. The characters have issues, they work them out with each other. Especially towards the end, there's a really beautiful theme about your friends are a lifeline when everything starts to go south.

Avatar the Last Airbender

Avatar is another good example of writing complex characters, in that a character's motivations, personality, fighting style all come down to one core trait. Aang has his upbringing as an air nomad, Katara and Sokka have the loss of their mother. So while it's difficult, I think it's something worth working on for my cast. Besides that, I really like the main group and their bonding. The dialogue works really well, it's another theme of friendship and diversity makes us stronger. Avatar also does the "action scenes as the culmination of an emotional arc" thing pretty well.

Orange is the New Black

If you're reading this, you probably already know that the second arc of the series takes place in prison. In the leadup to them breaking out of prison, I have an outline of the stories I want to tell, but the in between stories where they bond a little more and doing character focus is where I have less of a rigid idea. The great thing about Orange is the New Black is how they intertwine the ongoing narrative of episodes with character flashbacks for maximum pulling on heartstrings. Litchfield is full of very interesting characters with wide variance in their personal stories. The reasons they're in prison tie back into their personal flaws and convictions. This framing device makes it very easy for the audience to become familiar with these characters. I've got a few ideas for other prisoners, and I will come up with more. If you were wondering, my favorite episodes so far are "Take a Break from Your Values" and S3 E4, mostly because they got me emotionally the most.

La Haine

This is a political noir, with three young men waiting for the opportunity to get their friend out of prison after a protest. It's very slice of life-ish, touching on a lot of themes of political unrest, anger, and generations. For the episodes with specific character focus, especially in the first season, it's something I personally find intriguing to take inspiration from.

The Fast and The Furious

I really like the aesthetic of these movies early on. Very grungy and neon. Extremely 2000s. The final arc of the series I have planned is Espionage and Exhaust, where Jean gets into street racing. I'm going to translate parts of this aesthetic because I enjoy it so much. These movies are also a little spy thriller-y, which translates to the other parts of the story. Speaking of spy thriller...

Skyfall

The best of the Bond movies. I'm toying around with the idea of doing a few different styles of spy fiction in the final arc, and James Bond is kind of the poster child of the Martini and Suit and Tie brand of spy thriller. Skyfall is amazing, it has a great narrative theme, really beautiful camerawork.

Infinity Train

Here's where we start getting into some of the smaller influences. The anthology aspect is part of the mode I'm delivering these arcs in. The forced character development part of the story might possibly have some impact on my writing, when the plans and capers go wrong. In particular Jean's humility, Blaine's hesitancy, and the twins stubborness might cause some issues.

It Chapter Two & Jumaji: Welcome to the Jungle

Most of this movie is fetch quests, which everyone has different tolerances for. Personally, I enjoy throwing this movie on every so often while cleaning or working. The third act has all the characters split up and doing their own forced therapy to overcome their trauma, and that's always something I've appreciated. The recent Jumanji movies are a similar affect, the cast is thrown into a situation that requires them to deal with their problems head-on.

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon have such good chemistry here. This movie is really funny in really subtle ways. The fight scenes are really good and blend comedic elements into them well. The ending fight in the circus is particular memorable.

Dick Tracy

When I picture this version of San Francisco, I imagine it as a Dick Tracy neo noir version of itself. This movie's visual style is incredible. Liquid lighting, matte painting backgrounds. Look at any scene with the moon in the background or the graveyard scene. It's amazing.

The Bling Ring

There's an episode in arc 2 based off the phenomenon that was the Bling Ring. Sofia Coppola's movie isn't amazing, but it is very fun. These kids steal and burgle because they have a desire for material gain above their social station. My characters aren't exactly like this (they're actually poor and downtrodden). But committing crime out of desire to rise above or the concept of retribution is effective.

Knives Out

Part of the arc Dead Man's Will is the death of a rich old man kickstarts a globe-trotting scavenger hunt. The detective aspect of the Knives Out movies, the specific part of the fight over the will. For a while this was my number one favorite movie.

Cool Hand Luke

One of the first things I watched specifically about the failure of prisons in America. Part of the second arc is about how American prisons allow power-hungry abusers to have control over people and the unethical practices of prisons. Orange is the New Black does this a little as well, but in more subtle ways and through the vector of character drama than overt acts of force and injustice.

Across the Spider-verse

Edgar's character design was partially inspired by Spider-Punk. The writers of this movie really did their research with his character. The other Spider people also have such differing designs and aesthetics, which I find really cool and interesting.

Bob's Burgers and Twin Peaks

My two favorite shows! I'm someone who believes in the idea that your favorite art will somehow inevitably affect your own work. Following that, these two will naturally make it into the series in subtle ways. I really love the way the characters in both operate, the storylines they find themselves in. It all really works for me.

Adventure Time

Both Adventure Time and She Stoops to Heist are ensemble pieces, granted the ensembles are different sizes. Adventure Time is here because the way they develop characters was something I was really studying last summer. The show ran long enough it was able to flesh out its main characters over several years, getting more and more complex as it went along, and taking time to do one-offs with side characters. And if a character wasn't working for the show, they bounced back afterwards. The Cruise arc might also take inspiration from the show's humor in the face of disasters.

The Pelican Brief

Similar to the Northbound list, this was the first John Grisham novel I read, and it undoubtedly shaped my own personal politics. The whole "corporations do not have your best interest" and doing the right thing aspect are the things I'm taking with me into this project.

American Dad

This is mostly a "sense of humor" entry. I really enjoy the lampooning of the CIA and America. They also do spy comedy every so often. A lot of this shows jokes just really land with me.

There's a couple shows I can't write a whole entry about, but they probably affect the show in really subtle ways. Fillmore! was a Disney cartoon parody of cop shows, and every episode is a middle school version of a different crime. That's something I really like about episodic storytelling, the variety. Batman the Animated Series is very noir and has a killer aesthetic, also it's crime fiction similar to She Stoops. Teen Titans has a good comedy style and fun character dynamics. Etcetera etcetera.

[casethejoint]

Prison Break! Outline

For the second arc of the show, I've been particularly inspired by Community and Orange is the New Black. The way both shows give a lot of room for their larger casts to grow and develop their backstories is a really engaging format for both characters and the audience. Community in particular also has this fun trait where every third episode is a break in the show's formula. Lots of shows do this, but Community does it in spades. On top of the show's character work being really damn good.

A now deleted TikTok came across my feed long ago, and the OP was asking for "episodes so different from the rest of the show," and the examples they gave were Breaking Bad's "Fly" and Buffy's "Hush." The comments mentioned Community, of course, but other episodes were mentioned. This was the thing that inspired this leg of the show.

I have mentioned that this arc is largely episodic, so the episodes events aren't necessarily in proper order here, and I also don't have all the character episodes plotted out necessarily. This outline is just the stories I know I'm going to tell.

Episode 1: "Kangaroo"

A courtroom drama episode. When one of the inmates is accused by another for a personal slight, Jean suggests they take it to trial, and she plays the role of the Amoral Attorney. During the prisoner's mock trial, intercuts of the court case after the BuzzWave heist are shown, playing into the prison plotline.

Episode 2: "The Haunting of [Prison Name]"

I haven't settled on a name for the prison yet. This is a sort of Halloween special, when the prison is beset by paranormal activity, the crew explore the prison campus as ghost hunters. Spooky shenanigargles ensue, and one of our thieves discovers a possible escape route.

Episode 3: "Northbound and Diverging Timelines"

A "What if?" episode that follows a few different questions. What if Dionne's expose didn't result in BuzzWave's destruction? She'd be the communications expert on Arctic expedition obviously! What if the BuzzWave heist went as planned? The gang would spend the rest of their lives on the run and commiting more crime. What if the heist never happened? Their lives would all likely be worse. The end goal of all this is to give both the crew and the audience the idea that this is the best case scenario.

Episode 4: "Sleepover!"

The gang throws a sleepover in the cell block during a prison blackout after a riot. They attempt the usual sleepover activities as best they can: scary stories, truth or dare, self-care. They are in prison after all, materials are scarce.

Episode 5: "Jean's Fever"

After coming down with a crazy illness, Jean is bedridden and just barely hanging on to reality. While her friends try to get her some medicine from the prison staff, she falls asleep and lands in a fever dream. Her subconscious mind finds a way to examine her guilt, insecurities, and her flaws throughout the trip. Alice in Wonderland homage episode!

Episode 6: "Chain Gang"

This episode is a Bling Ring homage, following an in-universe documentary crew as they do a piece on Jean and the crew in prison. Talking heads from each of the group members give insight to their feelings while in prison and attitudes about life and crime. Camera footage captures the monotonous routine they find themselves in.

Episode 7: "Psycho Therapist"

The prison has a new counselor, a sadistic psychologist who traps each of the thieves in a mind prison where they are tortured by their greatest fears. Blaine has to suffer watching one of his friends die because he failed to act, and the world speeding on while he stays in place. Misty is forced to stay contained with her abuser, until she confronts him and finds the courage to leave. Etc, etc.

Episode 8: "Face the Music"

Musical episode where Jean is the only cast member fully into it. I know I want to do this, since it sounds like a lot of fun writing wise. Only problem I'm having is whether or not to make it plot relevant somehow, or a plotline in general. I was thinking along the line of the musical element being a necessary distraction in order to advance the escape plot.

Episode 9: "Out of Focus"

A Lower Decks style episode. Dionne on the outside is helping the crew with something while they're in prison. Cain is working on a case nearby, when he gets suspicious of what Dionne is up to. A group of inmates get focused on while the crew does their C-plot in the background.

Episode 10: "The Cell"

The prison's psycho therapist returns, this time inducing temporary amnesia or knocking the crew out in order to stick them in a psychological experiment. The crew's dynamics get specific focus as they have to find a way out of the small room. A kind of escape room plot and/or bottle episode.

Episode 11: "Concrete Jungle"

Noir episode following Blaine as he investigates the necessary tools and acquiring them for the escape plan. He's into detective novels, remember.

Episode 12: "Catch Us If You Can"

Jean and Edgar find themselves in a conspiracy thriller homage as they investigate their escape route. Initially just focused on getting the prison blueprints and Frontier getting security system information, they discover areas not on the map originally shown to us in Episode 2. Ends with a showdown in the prison garage. I have this idea of Jean saving Edgar by sliding and pulling him to the ground out of the way of a swinging car/large metal object.

Episode 13: "Grounders"

Grounders is a kids game I really enjoyed playing back then. The gist is basically tag, but players are trying to be entirely silent while the seeker is blind. If you get caught on the ground, you're the new It. This is a no-dialogue episode, while the characters escape the prison and can't make noise.

Episode 14: "The Outside"

Essentially an epilogue picking up after the events of Grounders. They successfully escape, and we see their lives as escaped convicts. This episode sets up the next arc; Dead Man's Will.

There's other episodes I'll need to configure, bonding episodes and individual focus episodes possibly. It's sort of like what Orange is the New Black likes to do, where they'll take one prisoner during an episode and we'll learn more about their lives through flashbacks and life in prison. I'll probably try something similar, it's a good format. This arc of the series is the best chance I'll have for traditional episodic storytelling.

[casethejoint]

Databroker episode outline!

Hey everyone who may be listening, sorry about the brief hiatus. It's winter break here, and I've been using the time off to work on a memoir project I developed over the summer. In the meantime, I have started the process of episode outlines for the series' arcs!

Databroker is a little more serialized than some of the following seasons, so I needed each episode to somehow advance the ongoing narrative. Which means there's not as much room for traditional character development episodes, but I'm sure as hell going to try. So here's my working outline.

Episode 1. "Catalyst"

The introduction episode. Jean and Blaine are introduced as roommates, Frontier brings Jean into his mission in the diner flashback scene, and Jean goes to Edgar and Lilith's house to try and reconcile.

Episode 2. "The Coder"

Frontier works as a programmer in a San Francisco start-up called BuzzWave. While dealing with corporate monotony and the constant crunch time, he is brought into their shady basement dealing in the hidden servers. Horrified, he seeks out Jean, having remembered her from the tabloids.

Episode 3. "The Acrobat"

Day in Misty's life, working at Night Owl's Diner with Jean, finding fun things to do until she inevitably has to go home. The episode ends on an off-screen abuser reveal.

Episode 4. "The Librarian"

Blaine works at a nearby library, we spend the time with him seeking out heist-related knowledge alongside his workload. Dionne's on-screen debut, comes in to visit and updates Blaine on newspaper happenings. At the end, Blaine goes with Jean to recruit Misty at her gymnastics studio.

Episode 5. "The Twins"

Jean works on reconciling with the twins, coming into their workplaces with conversation and planning goals. They go with her to shoplift supplies, and the episode ends with the whole group meeting in a dark storage unit.

Episode 6. "Delay"

There's a necessary day-long gap between meetings, so the group uses it to prepare for the heist and gather more supplies. Frontier gathers blueprints and tech during his workday.

Episode 7. "The Actress"

Jean spends her morning attending auditions, we see her various performances. She shoplifts some costume supplies before work. The episode ends with Cain's surprise visit to Night Owls.

Episode 8. "Heist!"

The big event, the group does the Ocean's montage thing at first, explaining the different roles over the heist scenes. While everything looks like it's going well, Cain starts poking around the BuzzWave office.

Episode 9. "The Pinch"

Lilith deals with Cain, flashbacks to past crime, insight into the trio's dynamic with the detective. Parts of the plan start to go wrong.

Episode 10. "Robin Hood"

The big showdown, when almost everything has gone wrong, the group makes their way to escape while the authorities close in. A high speed car chase, a rooftop pursuit, and a building explosion. Epilogue with the group in prison, while Jean narrates the resolution.

[casethejoint]

Two side characters!

These two side characters have a bit of screentime, they just aren't the main focus of the narrative.

Detective Cain

I'm still not sold on his name, but this is Detective Cain. He's a long-time rival of Jean and the twins, similar to Inspector Zenigata from Lupin the Third. Like Zenigata, he's less of an outright villain, and can take on a few roles when necessary, whether it's an unexpected ally or sympathizing good cop.

Dionne

She's Blaine's reporter friend! They're Jean's backup in the first arc in case the group get arrested (spoiler: they do). They work at a national newspaper, which is where she breaks the story of BuzzWave.