Bathing
GENRE
COMEDY
Core Theme
MODERN DATING AND SELF-ACCEPTANCE
TIME PERIOD
Contemporary
COMPARABLE TITLES
TRAINWRECK, SHRILL, BOJACK HORSEMAN, SHAMELESS
CHARACTER LIST
ā¢ RUBY FITZGERALD: 39. LEAD. SHE WAS A BIG STAR 20 YEARS AGO, BUT NOW IS STRUGGLING TO EVEN LAND COMMERCIAL BITS. SHE'S JUST COMING OFF A FIVE YEAR SEXLESS STINT, AND IT'S APPARENT, BUT SHE MANAGES TO KEEP A FUNNY OUTLOOK ON HER OWN SITUATION.
Logline
The life of an actress in LA isn't all glamour, money, and bedding rock stars. Sometimes it's more about humiliation, red wine hangovers, and the bad decisions they fuel. Ruby Fitzgerald has barely worked in years, not that anyone remembers her for anything but her short stint on a long-canceled but iconic TV show. But that was back when her career prospects seemed on the upswing -- longer ago than Ruby cares to admit -- and awkward sex with regrettable partners is doing nothing to take the edge off. Everything once functional in her house is going on strike, but the unemployment checks barely cover the mortgage, and a self-respecting girl needs to be able to pay her bar tab -- so repairs are on hold. One more bubble bath and a few more cocktails. A gal can always get responsible tomorrow. With everything mounting against her, a cranky and increasingly despairing Ruby will have to find out if her life's larger indignities are the result of bad luck, or a chronically bad attitude. What follows is a walking tour of the hilarious depths you can sink to if you stop exercising your best judgment.
Target Audiences
Age: 35-54
Target Gender: Female leaning
Setting
Hollywood, Ca
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Year Published: 2014
Starting Description
Ruby is a struggling "has-been" actress eternally choosing the wrong men to distract her from her sense of impending doom.
Ending Description
Ruby finds a hopeful & proactive solution to her struggles.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
No
ISBN
Information not completed
Mature Audience Themes
Language/Profanity
Plot - Other Elements
Happy Ending
Plot - Premise
Quest
Main Character Details
Name: Ruby Fitzgerald
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Aspiring, Badass, Outspoken, Sarcastic, Underdog, Blunt, Confident, Engaging, Insecure, Charming, Complex, Desperate, Educated, Funny, Perseverance
Additional Character Details
Name: Eliza
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Charming, Empathetic, Funny, Insecure, Sarcastic
Additional Character Details
Name: Mack
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Engaging, Funny, Narcissistic, Sexy, Beautiful, Confident, Crazy
Additional Character Details
Name: Kate
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous, Beautiful, Blunt, Unapologetic, Sexy, Badass, Confident, Funny, Outspoken
Brief
Ruby was a B-list actress a decade or two ago, but now, pushing 40, she fills her days with red wine
and attempts to ignore the staggering credit card bills accumulating in the face of no income. Her
love life? Also a bust. However, Ruby is hilarious and has great friends who help her stay sane.
What We Liked
- Written by a former Beverly Hills 90210 guest star. In a way, autobiographical;
- Genuinely witty, funny, and honest look at modern dating in Los Angeles;
- Ruby is relatable and someone who audiences will generally root for;
- It's exciting to watch her have terrible relationships, because they are terrible in hysterical,
almost fantastical ways. It's nonstop fun.
- Completely female-driven;
- Episodic nature of standalone story arcs is perfect for series.
Synopsis
Ruby Fitzgerald, soon to be 39, used to be a well-known actress on a hot show, but itās almost two
decades later, and she hasnāt had a job in over a year. Sheās on a five year streak of no sex, and relies
on copious amounts of red wine to distract her from all of the mounting piles of credit card debt she
has racked up without an income.
A parade of men keep Ruby busy. āThe Albinoā is in his 30s, extremely pale with silver hair - the
epitome of coolness, but always bails on Ruby. Nick, who used to be obese and has some extra loose
skin - not to mention a comically small penis over huge balls! Devon Evans, a surfing legend from the
ā80s, beginning to bald in his ā50s, and prone to handjobs in weird, public places. Devon has a huge
penis, but tiny balls. Girl canāt catch a break. Last but not least, Eddie Flagon, a seemingly nice guy -
until Ruby realizes that his recent breakup was with a woman so young that Eddie must have started
seeing her while the girl was still a teenager.
Just when Ruby is resigned to never sleep with another man, she meets Daniel at a party. Daniel is
young ā 28 ā and very handsome. This will be different, she thinks. Oh, boy, it is. Daniel soon reveals
that heās a Born Again Christian Evangelical ā he doesnāt want to have sex with Ruby because itās a
sin. However, Daniel does soon have sex with Ruby - and quickly gets branded āTeen Jesusā by her
group of friends. Ruby ignores red flags until theyāre at a party and Daniel reveals that heās not only
really religious, heās really Republican. Ruby and her friends are liberal, and Daniel is a young, male Ann
Coulter. The tryst with Daniel comes to an end at the party when he cries about how Ruby is going to
hell and canāt be saved.
Ruby is struggling to make any ends meet and gets rejected from yet another credit line application,
when her agent calls her with some exciting news: the small film she did last year is going to
premiere. After drinking to cope with an embarrassing premiere and after party, she gets in her car
and races home, only to get stopped at a DUI checkpoint. She gets charged with a DUIāshe had a .18
BAHāand spends a few days in jail. She wakes up without a hangover for the first time in as long as
she can remember, and decides to make a change to her life. She gets home, and finally decides to
rent out her house and move home with her mother for a bit, just until she can get back on her feet.