Sale Day at C Mart
Submision Type
book
Logline
Sale Day at C mart covers one day in the life of a big-box discount store in the 1980s. The Christmas in July sale had not been set up, the place is a mess, and the district manager is coming to inspect. What follows is a day of comic chaos and confusion.
Genre
Satire,Funny,Comedy
Short Summary
Store manager Don McKeever arrives at C mart at 7 am, lets his new untrained hires inside and puts them right to work, setting up todays sale and straightening counters. Anyone who has worked or shopped in one of these stores with appreciate the chaos and confusion that follows.
Setting
Florida
Based on a True Story
No
Plot - Premise
Other
Plot - Other Elements
Happy Ending
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Main Character Details
Name: Don McKeever
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Blunt,Leader,Complex,Insecure
Additional Character Details
Name: Carrie Nelson
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Engaging,Faithful,Honorable
Additional Character Details
Name: Wally Humphery
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Role: protagonist
Key Traits: Modest,Selfless,Strong Moral Code,Honorable,Flexible,Faithful
Additional Character Details
Name: Billy Buffalo
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Complex,Visionary,Lone Wolf,Religious
Genre
COMEDY, DRAMA
Brief
McKeever a general manager at C mart, a big box store, must delicately balance his team of employees while complying with out of touch corporate directions. In the span of a day he must initiate new employees, get a back to school and Christmas display up and deal with his employees dealing with customers all while under the watchful eye of his district supervisor.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: GOOD
Premise: EXCELLENT
Structure: EXCELLENT
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
It is accurate.
Draw of Story
The characters are down to earth and charming each with their own backstory and their personalities often lead to comedic clashes or interactions.
Possible Drawbacks
The themes are a bit unclear beyond capitalism which doesn’t seem to be a universal goal of all the characters. It is unclear about the end of the character arcs for certain side characters because the cast is so large. Perhaps focusing on a slightly smaller team or making the character arcs more clear in the latter parts of the narrative would help clarify this and make the conflicts feel more consistent.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is that the general manager has a single day to re-do his store with mostly all new employees which is a next to impossible task without quick bonding and teamwork.
Fanbase Potential
This could potentially have a large fanbase with a blue collar audience that finds box store relatable either in working there or as customers.
Awards Potential
This is unlikely to get nominated as a comedy if adapted into a film, but could get nominated for television awards depending on the clarity of the character arcs.
Envisioned Budget
LOW BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
SUPERSTORE, OFFICE SPACE, WORKAHOLICS, CHUCK, 2 BROKE GIRLS, LOVE ACTUALLY
What’s New About the Story
Sale Day at C Mart takes a normal day in the life of a big box store and humanizes it in a heartwarming way with likeable characters. In streamlining the characters to be more intertwined with a, b and c stories this would prime the narrative to be adapted while helping to keep track of the large cast through small group storylines.
Lead Characters
Don is experienced, composed and fair. Carrie is nosy but helpful and hardworking. Wally is adaptive and serene.
Uniqueness of Story
This is a pretty great execution of ensemble with a charming plot and excellent time structure, however some of the character structure plotting could be refined to sustain emotional investment and help keep track of the large cast. The structure also limits the current story to be a film rather than a television show (although there is a very similar tv show with the same setting premise).
Possible Formats
Film: Studio, Indie, Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
This would be a very fun story to make but some character inner conflicts can feel less consistent in the later part of the narrative. The themes could also be stronger outside of corporate greed.
Tips for Improvement
Creating more consistent character development that is easier to track in a large cast may benefit from minimizing side characters for a film adaptation or expanding the side character’s depth if a television adaptation. Tying the conflicts to more apparent themes may also help increase emotional investment.