Brief

After her decades-long marriage falls apart, a devoted wife and mother begins living for herself with hilarious, sometimes disastrous, but always endearing results.

What We Liked

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ANGIE BARDOT is a relatable, approachable, female-drive narrative. It follows the journey of a middle-aged divorcee as she struggles to adjust to her new life in a world that's changed dramatically from the last time she was single. Full of anecdotes of her forays into online dating, one-night stands and the shame of taking safe sex advice from her daughters, the story is raw, honest and endearing. One can't help but root for the protagonist as she redefines what it means to be single and kisses several emotionally unavailable frogs in hopes of finding a prince. She never gives up, and inspires the audience to do the same.

Film: Although the source material feels slightly disorganized, there is a strong arc present. Angie Bardot goes from married, to single, to divorced, to back in the dating game in an online world. Her life takes a turn when she meets a charming, but emotionally unavailable man who redefines almost everything she's known about herself. And when she gets her heart broken again, she learn the quintessential lesson that she must put herself first. Her story is honest, brave and above all inspiring. She is a character that's easy to root for, and almost impossible to look away from.

TV: With a little finessing, the source material could sustain a series. There is no definitive ending for the protagonist, aside from her unwavering hope, and it's possible that some of her laugh-out-loud anecdotes could create compelling story arcs. Perhaps most importantly, Angie Bardot is easy to root for. She is approachable, relatable and raw, with a good-natured humor that is difficult to ignore.

Key points:
Female-driven.
Great use of theme.
Great comedic timing.
Manageable cast.
Relatable.

Synopsis

ANGIE BARDOT laughs when her husband tells her that he wants to be a professional comedian. She wonders if she’d still be married if she hadn’t laughed. Angie walks in on her husband texting. She waits for him to fall asleep and finds sexts to another woman. She debates murdering him with a bedside lamp but decides against it. Angie sneaks out of her house and leaves a note next to his phone charger. At a hotel, she wonders if she could’ve been a better wife.

Angie loses the weight she gained from menopause during her first three months of singledom. She remembers her husband looking away in disgust at her nude body, and eats ice cream for dinner. Angie demands that her husband leave their shared home, but her request falls on deaf ears. She hauls up with her son until she can move into a rental. She and her estranged husband put the house on the market, and it takes months to sell. After accepting an offer, Angie travels to Australia with her friend, SALLY. Well into the trip, she learns that the offer has fallen through. She returns home and struggles to sell the house. Eventually, they accept an offer below the asking price.

Angie begins seeing a therapist and discovers that she is prejudiced against single women. She accepts a meeting with her ex to determine how they will handle family affairs. After receiving a text meant for his husband’s mistress, Angie breaks down.

Upon seeing her ex, Angie sees things she never noticed before and realizes that she isn’t upset about losing her husband, only her safety net. She reveals that her husband has had an affair before, and she fought to win against his mistress. This time, Angie doesn’t have the fight in her anymore. She decides to join the world of online dating. She connects with a prospect, who invites her out to coffee. The man looks nothing like his photo, and spends the entire date distracted by the Keno balls being drawn in the pub, shown on a big TV screen. That reminds Angie of her husband playing backgammon and ignoring her. Angie takes him home anyway but is dismayed to discover that sex with strangers isn’t what it’s made out to be.

Angie meets an Englishman who tells her that he is an undercover agent. They go on several dates, and he claims to be proficient in Kama Sutra. Angie giggles to herself when she discovers that he is not, in fact, a sex god.

Angie celebrates a milestone birthday with both of her daughters delivering an honest speech about what she means to them, and for the first time Angie knows she’ll be okay. Angie buys herself a home and realizes that she doesn’t love it. To cheer herself up, she sees a plastic surgeon for an eye lift. The surgeon leaves mismatched scars, and Angie falls into a depression.

Angie’s friend sets her up on a blind date. They begin to bond and find that they have quite a lot in common. They see each other for almost five months and spend one, wonderful night together. They mutually decide that neither of them is ready for a relationship, but each is grateful to the other for the time they shared.

Angie’s mother decides to leave her home to her part-time help, MONICA, instead of Angie. Devastated, she wonders what else could go wrong. And almost like clockwork, her ceiling begins leaking. Plumbers inform her that it is a blocked drainage pipe that all but explodes into Angie’s unit. To protect her floors, she throws herself on the ground to act like a giant sponge and stave off the damage. It doesn’t work and the repairs take nearly five months to complete.

Angie tries her hand at a healthier lifestyle by joining a gym. But the novelty soon wears off and she begins to choose Netflix instead. In the meantime, her plastic surgeon agrees to fix her eyes. And Angie agrees to accompany a friend on a trip to Milan. Soon into the trip, Angie discovers that she has a blood clot. She returns home unscathed. But her home doctor realizes that the blood clot has grown and ups her medication until all is well.

Two years and two days from the day she left, Angie Bardot officially files for divorce. After a few hiccups, including the wrong marriage date and a misspelled name, Angie is a divorcee. She vows to move onto the next chapter of her life, for better or worse. Angie cuts out anybody who has disrespected her, including her ex and most of her family. She also quits her job. She begins socializing with friends and her infectious laugh returns. When she gains weight from eating out so much, she joins a weight loss program. But social obligations cause her to hide from her support person and eventually drop the program.

Angie returns to the online dating site and finds a gorgeous man, DREAMBOAT. She sends him a photo of herself, and they arrange a meeting. Angie finds herself attracted to him, so much so that she clams up and shakes his hand at the end of the date. He reaches out to her several days later, and she invites him for dinner. She dons sexy lingerie and prepares for a night of romance. They sleep together, multiple times, before she leaves for a trip to Bali.

Angie spends most of the trip thinking about the guy. They text and Angie finds that she’s excited to get back to her life. She goes out to dinner with her new lover, and they have a sleepover. Angie makes him breakfast. But after a short time together, he invites her for coffee. Angie knows that she’s being dumped and handles it graciously. The experience teaches her that she doesn’t want a long-term relationship.

Dreamboat returns after several months, and they resume their relationship. Angie waits for something to go awry. She discovers that he is involved with several other women and institutes a no-contact policy. But she breaks her own rule and soon enough, he is back in her life and her bed. She decides that the only way to ensure she wins him over is to become her version of a slut. She visits a sex shop and transforms herself. She believes it to have worked, until he makes alternative plans for New Years. Angie stops answering his calls, determined to live without him.

Angie makes it eighteen days before she contacts him again, and they resume their relationship. But Angie soon begins to get the sense that her lover is spending time with someone else. She books a trip to Japan and breaks up with him over text message. When they reconnect again, he admits that she is one of several women. Angie struggles with whether she can live with that, and wonders if being her own number one will ever be enough.

On her former lover’s birthday, she discovers that he’s spending the day alone and agrees to go over for dinner. They lay in bed together, cuddling, and the next morning she runs out before things can escalate. Angie gets back into online dating and meets two men. Neither of them works out, and she readies for her trip to Japan, where Angie finds solace dancing in the rain.

Back at home, Angie resumes online dating. She meets a man who is attractive on the phone, but not in person. He tries to kiss her, and Angie backs away just as her former lover calls. She begins to cry, and he comes over to keep her company. Still, Angie knows her path forward doesn’t include him. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she knows she’ll get there. Someday.

About The Author

Angela Bardot has a way of finding the funny side of life when disastrous situations find her, which is often. She self-published her first book in 2017, as a way to cope with the end of her marriage.