Literary plot genre: humorous comedy | Hilo (Hawaii), 2019
Main characters.
Tom Miller and his friend Duke are two Hawaiian boys who live by gimmicks and odd jobs. They know each other as children, and when they move in pairs they resemble Laurel and Oil, both in physical resemblance and character. Tom and Duke are carefree and bungling, with a high capacity for getting into trouble. In theory they would like to become two chefs and open a restaurant, but in practice they cannot cook a hard-boiled egg.
Their only purpose in life is to enjoy the day, and the only topic they are interested in is how to travel with little money to discover the world. The first continent they would like to visit is Africa.
The call to adventure
Tom and Duke have been hired at an island restaurant as waiters, but it is more what they drink than what they serve at the tables. Their carelessness creates a fight in the nightclub, which is why they are fired by the owner. Drunk and chased by some angry customers, Tom and Duke pick up a random set of keys from the parking lot's hovel, get into the car that responds to the remote control, and drive away from the parking lot.
They wake up in the morning after sleeping in a clearing overlooking the sea and discover that they have stolen a car in the trunk of which there are two surprises: a dead body and a bag. They attempt to open the bag in every way, but fail.
The Conflict
Having overcome their initial fear, Tom and Duke search the corpse and find in a note the solution to the mystery: the bag is armored and contains ten million dollars. The combination to open the bag is kept in a safe deposit box at the Maui train station, and the only way to open the box is by fingerprinting the corpse.
Tom and Duke want the money from the bag; to them, it is compensation that life has granted them. Besides, with that money they could go to Africa, open a restaurant and start the business of their dreams. After all, what does it take? All they have to do is walk into the station with the corpse and have him lay a hand on the box.
The key
Tom and Duke didn't count on the car's owners: a group of drug dealers who want their money back. The thugs have placed a tracker that leads them to the boys, but they are not alone: detective Gina has been following them for weeks to break up their trafficking. A manhunt full of twists and turns ensues, where the traffickers turn out to be as clumsy as Tom and Duke. In a crescendo of escapes, splits, and chases, the Hawaiian landscapes are the perfect backdrop to the pair's adventure.
When Gina manages to catch the two boys, she understands who they are and their true nature. The policewoman asks the two to cooperate, to arrange an exchange so that law enforcement can record everything. Tom and Duke feel they have no choice and agree despite their fear. Their behavior arouses the doubts of the gang, which, after obtaining the bag, tries to kill them.
Duke will be injured, but Tom's brave behavior and Gina's intervention will bring justice. The two are sentenced to community service and forced to cook for the soup kitchen, completing at least part of their dream.
The alternatives
The main secret of plots of this type is knowing how to combine the lightness of the episodes with a great pace of action that keeps the attention high. It is a genre of pure entertainment, which does not require great inner reflection, only rhythm and smiles. Have fun constructing six, seven, ten different episodes of rollicking facts.
Start with simple elements (ordering coffee, getting gas, a stop at the bathroom...) and create misunderstandings and confusion. Try changing characters, places, their desires, or even the time of setting, but always keep the plot frame simple.
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