Blind Date
Walter Davis is a workaholic. His attention is all to his work and very little to his personal life or appearance. Now he needs a date to take to his company's business dinner with a new important Japanese client. His brother sets him up with his wife's cousin Nadia, who is new in town and wants to socialize, but he was warned that if she gets drunk, she loses control and becomes wild. How will the date turn out - especially when they encounter Nadia's ex-boyfriend David?
Despite a respectable budget of $18.0M, Blind Date became a commercial success, earning $39.3M worldwide—a 118% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Blind Date (1987) exemplifies precise narrative architecture, characteristic of Blake Edwards's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 35 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Walter Davis
Nadia Gates
David Bedford
Ted Davis
Main Cast & Characters
Walter Davis
Played by Bruce Willis
Uptight workaholic who needs a date for a crucial business dinner and gets set up on a disastrous blind date.
Nadia Gates
Played by Kim Basinger
Beautiful but unpredictable woman who becomes wildly uninhibited when she drinks alcohol, turning Walter's evening into chaos.
David Bedford
Played by John Larroquette
Nadia's volatile ex-boyfriend who becomes increasingly unhinged and dangerous as he tries to win her back.
Ted Davis
Played by Phil Hartman
Walter's brother who sets him up on the blind date with his wife's cousin Nadia.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Walter Larson is introduced as a workaholic bachelor focused on landing a major business deal with Japanese clients, living a controlled but lonely life in Los Angeles.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Ted sets Walter up on a blind date with Nadia Gates, his wife's cousin, describing her as beautiful but warning him not to let her drink alcohol.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 23 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Nadia has her first drink at dinner despite Walter's attempts to prevent it, crossing the point of no return as her wild, uninhibited personality emerges., moving from reaction to action.
At 48 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat David catches up with Walter and Nadia, violently attacking Walter and escalating the stakes from romantic comedy to dangerous pursuit, raising the consequences of the evening's chaos., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 72 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Walter loses everything: his job, his reputation, and seemingly any chance with Nadia as the chaotic night reaches its lowest point with him arrested and facing complete ruin., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 77 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Walter realizes that Nadia and the spontaneity she represents are worth fighting for, choosing to pursue her rather than retreat to his safe, controlled existence., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Blind Date's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Blind Date against these established plot points, we can identify how Blake Edwards utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Blind Date within the comedy genre.
Blake Edwards's Structural Approach
Among the 15 Blake Edwards films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Blind Date takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Blake Edwards filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Blake Edwards analyses, see Curse of the Pink Panther, 10 and Victor/Victoria.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Walter Larson is introduced as a workaholic bachelor focused on landing a major business deal with Japanese clients, living a controlled but lonely life in Los Angeles.
Theme
Walter's brother Ted suggests he needs to loosen up and take risks in his personal life, hinting at the film's theme about control versus spontaneity.
Worldbuilding
Establishes Walter's uptight personality, his important business dinner with Japanese investors, his brother Ted's more relaxed lifestyle, and the need for Walter to find a date for the crucial dinner.
Disruption
Ted sets Walter up on a blind date with Nadia Gates, his wife's cousin, describing her as beautiful but warning him not to let her drink alcohol.
Resistance
Walter debates whether to go through with the blind date, meets the stunning Nadia, and receives warnings about her drinking problem. He decides to proceed carefully with the evening.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Nadia has her first drink at dinner despite Walter's attempts to prevent it, crossing the point of no return as her wild, uninhibited personality emerges.
Mirror World
Nadia's uninhibited behavior begins to charm Walter even as it disrupts his carefully planned evening, introducing the romantic subplot that will teach him to embrace spontaneity.
Premise
The escalating chaos of the date: Nadia's drunken antics ruin the business dinner, they flee through Los Angeles, and her jealous ex-boyfriend David begins pursuing them, delivering the promised comedy of the premise.
Midpoint
David catches up with Walter and Nadia, violently attacking Walter and escalating the stakes from romantic comedy to dangerous pursuit, raising the consequences of the evening's chaos.
Opposition
David's increasingly unhinged pursuit intensifies, Walter's career and reputation crumble, and the night spirals further out of control with arrests, property damage, and mounting consequences.
Collapse
Walter loses everything: his job, his reputation, and seemingly any chance with Nadia as the chaotic night reaches its lowest point with him arrested and facing complete ruin.
Crisis
Walter hits rock bottom and must confront whether the night's chaos was worth it, processing the loss of his controlled life while recognizing his genuine feelings for Nadia.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Walter realizes that Nadia and the spontaneity she represents are worth fighting for, choosing to pursue her rather than retreat to his safe, controlled existence.
Synthesis
Walter confronts David, wins back Nadia, and resolves the chaos by embracing the unpredictability she brings to his life, combining his responsible nature with newfound spontaneity.
Transformation
Walter and Nadia together, with Walter having learned to balance control with spontaneity, transformed from an uptight workaholic into someone who can embrace life's unpredictability.