How The Parent Trap (1998) Film Follows/Pivots From Hollywood Narrative Conventions
Ellen Su
Introduction To Film
Department of Fashion Business: LIM College
How The Film Follows/Pivots From Hollywood Narrative Conventions
Professor A. Symons
16 April 2025
Abstract
The Parent Trap (1998) film follows traditional Hollywood narrative conventions in several ways, but pivots from some conventions. The film’s chronological sequence is an example of the Classic Hollywood Narrative Structure and utilizes narrative conventions to tell the viewers the entire story. There is a beginning, middle, and end. There is an obvious villain, a build-up into the climax scene, and a cheerful resolution. The twin girls are the protagonists in the storyline and defeat the evil villain by breaking up their father and Meredith Blake. The happy ending of Nick and Elizabeth remarrying each other shows that the girls’ plan worked. The film is split into three acts. The slight pivot from narrative conventions is the flashback scene at the beginning of the film.
How The Parent Trap (1998) Film Follows/Pivots From Hollywood Narrative Conventions
The Parent Trap (1998) film follows traditional Hollywood narrative conventions in several ways, but pivots from some conventions. Each character that appears to the audience is labeled as a hero, aide to hero, or villain/aide to villain, and portrays the character arc through their specific actions. The film progresses by carefully following the narrative elements. The narrative structure of The Parent Trap begins with equilibrium, leads into the disruption of equilibrium, and finally returns to equilibrium (Edgar et al., 2015). According to the description, the film follows the Classic Hollywood Narrative Structure. The Parent Trap additionally visually recreates the Classic Hollywood Three-Act Structure, where the quarters of the movie are split into 30, 60, and then 30 minutes (Edgar et al., 2015). It pivots from narrative conventions, beginning the film with a flashback to provide a short glimpse of the happy couple (Elizabeth James and Nick Parker) on their wedding night. After, there is a time skip of 11 years and 9 months to show their twin daughters at summer camp, who are both blissfully unaware of each other’s existence.
At the start, viewers see a smiling couple celebrating their wedding on the Queen Elizabeth II ship. The festive fireworks, candles, romantic music, and applause from family/friends demonstrate how joyful Elizabeth James and Nicholas Parker were when they married. This flashback pivots from Hollywood narrative conventions. The time jump introduces Hallie Parker and Annie James through the scene of the twins arriving at summer camp in Maine. Here, the equilibrium is established. The preteen twins have lived completely separate lives with one parent: Hallie grew up in Napa, California, with her dad and nanny, Chessie, and Annie in London with her mother, grandfather, and butler, Martin. By removing their fencing masks, the girls meet face to face, shocked by their alikeness. The scene causes disruption in the equilibrium, and the main characters, Annie and Hallie, identify the disruption as a personality clash. “Syd Field identified the following structure and suggested its use to all other filmmakers. For Field, the three key stages of any film is setup, confrontation, and resolution” (Edgar et al., 2015). The girls pull pranks on each other and gravely dislike one another, until they put the ripped, halved photo of their parents together and realize they are sisters. The first thirty minutes of the film is the setup (Edgar et al., 2015). Momentum builds up until the scene where Hallie reaches into her trunk to piece her ripped photo of their mother with Annie’s halved picture of their father.
The entire journey and long ordeal the twin girls experience to attempt to rejoin their parents is all part of the reinstatement of equilibrium. “Aristotle is pointing out that the narrative sequencing resulting in a beginning, middle, and end is a construction born out of the desire to make drama coherent” (Edgar et al., 2015). The girls hope for their parents to fall back in love and remarry each other. For the last few weeks of camp, the twins teach each other how to mimic habits, gestures, voice, and pretend to be one another. The characters have resolved their conflict. Annie teaches Hallie her secret handshake with butler, Martin, and describes her family dynamics. Hallie explains her house layout, traditions, introduces her dad, nanny, Chessie, dog, Sammy, and modifies Annie’s physical appearance. Annie lets Hallie cut her hair and pierce her ears, so they look alike. Annie bites her nails to make them look like Hallie’s hands; Nick exclaims, “Still biting those nails, I see [to Annie]!” in the car ride home to his winery. Hallie and Annie switch places before leaving summer camp; Annie flies to California while Hallie goes to London. The film follows chronological order.
“Working with production designer Dean Tavoularis, they created a Napa Valley house (the father’s) and a London place (the mother’s) fit for Architectural Digest” (Pener, 2013). The unique winery home and beautiful townhouse perfectly matched the narrative because the home setting’s purpose reveals Nick and Elizabeth’s wealth/financial success, and viewers infer that their children grew up well-taken-care-of. Both twin girls lived an equal life of luxury and stability; neither grew up in poverty or abuse. The setting follows Hollywood narrative conventions since aesthetic locations are commonly used in films. Viewers expect the home to match the characters’ personality. A fairly accurate story synopsis, “From there, they make a plan to trade places so each can meet the other’s parent, with the underlying hopes of bringing them back together and being a family again” (LeBlanc, 2021), summarizes the twins’ plot. The quote agrees that the narrative has a smooth, flowing sequence and resolution.
In the second act of the film, the villain is introduced. Meredith Blake is Nick’s 26-year-old fiancée, deeply resented by the twins. She is the main disruption of the narrative. Annie overhears Meredith lying on a phone call and not telling her dad about the charity event. In the scene after Nick informs Annie he is marrying Meredith and Annie runs off, there is a jump cut. Meredith takes a Cartier silver bell out of its red box, then rings it to beckon Chessie to make 2 dry martinis. Annie already distrusts Meredith’s intentions and boldly accuses her by saying, “Then, my dad’s money has nothing to do with you wanting to marry him, right?” Meredith huffs, “Ok, you listen here, you pus, I am marrying your father in 2 weeks whether you like it or not. So I suggest you better not tangle with me. Are we clear?” Annie and Hallie plan to separate their dad from the evil girlfriend. The twins go on a whirlwind adventure to stop the marriage and organize a reunion between their parents. This is an example of how “The characters seek to resolve the issue to solve the problem to restore equilibrium” (Edgar et al., 2015). The twins’ plot follows the narrative sequence expected in Hollywood films.
Meredith secretly says, “I’ll send that two-faced little brat off to boarding school in Timbuktu,” to her male assistant sitting next to her on a golf cart. At the Stafford Hotel in San Francisco, Meredith gushes to her father, “He is perfect for your little girl and millions more,” referring to Nick Parker’s financial status as a winery owner. Meredith later finds out Nick has 2 daughters, and the girls pull several pranks to annoy Meredith. Their rising conflict hits a peak as Meredith gives Nick an ultimatum at the lake of the campsite, screaming, “It’s me or them? Get the picture?” Nick responds with “Them. T-H-E-M. Get the picture?” Meredith yells in aggravation and defeat. The confrontation is part of the key stage before resolution (Edgar et al., 2015). She and Nick break their engagement as the twin girls watch. This is the major climax.
Chessie and Martin are the minor characters who help the main characters bring their parents together. Their kindness is exhibited through actions: Chessie cooks the girl’s favorite food, guides, comforts, and is a motherly figure to Hallie; Martin cooks, guides, comforts, and is a fatherly figure to Annie. They both assist the twins’ plan to meet in San Francisco at The Stafford. They support the parent trap. Chessie and Martin both cry tears of joy when they discover this is their first time meeting the other twin. Chessie bonds with Elizabeth over their love for the twins and their dislike of Meredith. Chessie chuckles as she tells Elizabeth, “Oh, I would pay big money to see that woman [Meredith] climb a mountain.”
In the 3rd act, the resolution features Hallie saying, “We didn’t want to lose you two again,” with her mum replying, “We?” Nick says, “This time, I went after you,” and Elizabeth responds, “What do you expect? To live happily ever after?” Nick replies, “Yes, to all of the above,” then kisses Elizabeth in her London home, surrounded by their children. Hallie and Annie rejoice; Hallie jubilantly gasps, “We actually did it!” The film ends happily, showing scenes of Nick and Elizabeth’s second wedding on the Queen Elizabeth II ship.
References
Edgar, R., Marland, J., & Rawle, S. (2015). Narrative. In The Language of Film (pp. 38-71). London: Fairchild Books. Retrieved April 16, 2025, from
http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474222525.ch-002
Pener, D. (2013, March 21). Nancy Meyers spills design secrets of her movies in keynote speech. The Hollywood Reporter.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/nancy-meyers-spills-design-secrets-430296/
LeBlanc, K. (2021, February 11). “The parent trap” (1961) vs. “The parent trap” (1998) - the good 5¢ cigar. The Good 5¢ Cigar - The University of Rhode Island’s Student Voice Since 1971. https://rhodycigar.com/2021/02/11/the-parent-trap-1961-vs-the-parent-trap-1998/
