Just the Way You Are
Susan Berlanger, a New York based concert flutist, is currently in the pit orchestra for a ballet company where her best friend Lisa Elliott is a dancer. Susan's parents are helping arrange a European concert tour to increase her professional profile. She is considering accepting the marriage proposal of straight-laced investment banker Frank Bantam, it a marriage of convenience for both with Frank still in the closet, and Susan facing her own man problems. Having contracted a case of viral encephalitis at age nine, Susan requires a brace to walk, and even then with a limp. As such, many men seem to be attracted to her until they see the brace. In going on that European tour, Susan comes up with an idea to explore life without being judged solely by her disability. On her limited funds, she will ditch a couple of the tour dates and instead head to the French ski resort of Megève on a deal. Before she goes, she is able to persuade a Parisian doctor to put her usually braced leg in a cast so that people will just assume that she is recuperating from a ski injury, instead of being permanently disabled. The ruse works, she making some friends and having some lovers along the way. Key among those is an American skier named Steve Haslachez at the mountain for some races, a Parisienne named Nicole Schallon who is waiting for her married lover to show up, ski equipment executive François Rossignol who is a little more comfortable discussing his own physical disability, and freelance photographer Peter Nichols who is largely there to take photos of his current love interest Bobbie, also there for the races. Despite their bumpy beginning, she especially makes that romantic connection with Peter. She has to decide if there is any chance of a future with him, which means not only being fit into his already hectic global travel schedule, but being up front with him about her disability, which, if past history is any indication, may kibosh the relationship anyway.
The film earned $7.9M at the global box office.
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%)
Just the Way You Are (1984) exemplifies meticulously timed plot construction, characteristic of Édouard Molinaro's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 34 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Susan Berlanger, a talented flutist with a disability affecting her left leg, performs with her music therapy group at a rehabilitation center. She's skilled and compassionate but lives a life defined by her limitation, watching others with longing.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when Susan receives an invitation or opportunity to travel to a ski resort in France for a music festival. This presents a chance to escape her ordinary life and reinvent herself away from those who know her.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 23% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Susan makes the active decision to travel to France and use the cast to conceal her permanent disability, presenting it as a temporary ski injury. She commits to the deception and enters a new world where she can be seen as "normal."., moving from reaction to action.
At 47 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Peter tells Susan he loves her and hints at a future together. This is a false victory: Susan has achieved everything she wanted, but it's built on a lie. The stakes raise as the relationship deepens, making the truth harder to reveal and the potential loss greater., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 70 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Peter discovers the truth about Susan's disability, either through direct revelation or by accident. He feels betrayed and deceived. The relationship Susan built crumbles, and her worst fear is realized: the "normal" love she found dies the moment the truth is revealed. Peter walks away., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 74 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Susan realizes that true love requires truth and self-acceptance. She decides to return to Peter not to beg forgiveness, but to own who she is completely. She synthesizes the confidence she found while "normal" with acceptance of her authentic self. She chooses to be vulnerable and real., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Just the Way You Are's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Just the Way You Are against these established plot points, we can identify how Édouard Molinaro utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Just the Way You Are within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Susan Berlanger, a talented flutist with a disability affecting her left leg, performs with her music therapy group at a rehabilitation center. She's skilled and compassionate but lives a life defined by her limitation, watching others with longing.
Theme
Susan's colleague or friend remarks about accepting yourself "just the way you are" versus pretending to be someone you're not. The statement foreshadows Susan's journey between authenticity and deception in the pursuit of love.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Susan's life in New York: her work as a music therapist, her close relationship with her friend Lisa, her musical talent, and the daily challenges of living with her disability. We see how her condition affects her romantic prospects and self-image.
Disruption
Susan receives an invitation or opportunity to travel to a ski resort in France for a music festival. This presents a chance to escape her ordinary life and reinvent herself away from those who know her.
Resistance
Susan debates whether to go to France and contemplates a radical idea: what if she could hide her disability using a special cast that makes her leg appear normally injured? Her friend Lisa and others discuss the risks and ethics of such deception, but Susan is torn between desire for normalcy and authenticity.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Susan makes the active decision to travel to France and use the cast to conceal her permanent disability, presenting it as a temporary ski injury. She commits to the deception and enters a new world where she can be seen as "normal."
Mirror World
Susan meets Peter, a charming American helicopter pilot working in the French Alps. Their connection is immediate and genuine. Peter represents everything Susan wants: someone who sees her as whole, desirable, and normal. He becomes the embodiment of the thematic question.
Premise
The romance blossoms in the beautiful French Alps. Susan experiences the "normal" life she's always dreamed of: romantic dinners, dancing, skiing (watching), and falling deeply in love with Peter. The promise of the premise is fulfilled as she lives without the weight of others' pity or prejudice.
Midpoint
Peter tells Susan he loves her and hints at a future together. This is a false victory: Susan has achieved everything she wanted, but it's built on a lie. The stakes raise as the relationship deepens, making the truth harder to reveal and the potential loss greater.
Opposition
The pressure intensifies as Susan's deception becomes harder to maintain. Close calls where Peter almost discovers the truth, growing guilt about lying to someone she truly loves, and the arrival of people who know her secret create mounting tension. Peter begins planning their future together, making Susan's internal conflict unbearable.
Collapse
Peter discovers the truth about Susan's disability, either through direct revelation or by accident. He feels betrayed and deceived. The relationship Susan built crumbles, and her worst fear is realized: the "normal" love she found dies the moment the truth is revealed. Peter walks away.
Crisis
Susan is devastated, facing the consequences of her deception. She processes whether she was wrong to lie or wrong to think she needed to. The dark night forces her to confront whether she can ever be loved for who she truly is, disability and all.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Susan realizes that true love requires truth and self-acceptance. She decides to return to Peter not to beg forgiveness, but to own who she is completely. She synthesizes the confidence she found while "normal" with acceptance of her authentic self. She chooses to be vulnerable and real.
Synthesis
Susan confronts Peter and honestly explains her actions, fear, and love. She doesn't hide or make excuses. Peter must decide whether he can forgive the deception and love the real Susan. The finale resolves whether authentic love can overcome both the lie and the disability.
Transformation
Susan is shown confident and whole, with or without Peter's acceptance. She has transformed from someone who needed to hide to be loved into someone who knows she deserves love just the way she is. The final image mirrors the opening but shows her liberated self-acceptance.