Imagine Me and You

by Billy Mernit

Book Overview

A jilted screenwriter conjures up an imaginary girlfriend in a ploy to get his ex back--only to find she's real and quite demanding. Hilarious and fresh, Imagine Me and You is a poignant, clever riff on the conventions of romantic comedy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307395375
• ISBN13: 9780307395375
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Romantic Comedy with a Twist

Romantic comedy films tend to stick to a pretty strict formula. And Billy Mernit's infectiously fun novel, "Imagine Me & You" lays out the components of that formula in the chapter titles: Setup, Cute Meet, Complication, Hook, Swivel, Dark Moment and Resolution. And Mernit follows the formula down to the letter. Well, almost. In recent years, Hollywood and indie filmmakers have been putting out films that follow the romantic comedy formula up to a point before veering off into unexpected territory at the very end. Rather than the typical Happily Ever After (HEA, to you romance fans), characters in films like "Waitress" or "Coffee Date" find their own brand of happiness by finding themselves, rather than finding love. For the ultimate subversion of the formula, one need look no further than Don Roos's satiric "Happy Endings," where each of the [multitude of] characters goes through all the motions of the genre with one person and then, at the eleventh hour, each one ends up with someone else entirely. So while there is HEA aplenty, it just comes in unexpected ways. Mernit, a screenwriter and professor of screenwriting, presents a literary version of the modern romantic comedy with a twist. Jordan Moore, the protagonist (who, as a "teacher-sometimes-writer," shares the author's vocation) is suddenly abandoned by his beloved wife Isabella, who returns to her native Italy to spend time with her family and get some perspective on their marriage. In an effort to make her jealous, he tells Isabella he's seeing Naomi, a fictional French dreamgirl he's modelled after one of his former students. But, in short order, his imaginary mistress begins appearing to him, serving as equal parts companion, critic, advisor and muse. Despite the fact that he knows she's merely a figment of his imagination, he can't seem to shake her, nor does he think he wants to, that is until the real Naomi re-enters his life and Isabella announces her impending return to Los Angeles. I won't reveal the ending, but suffice it to say, it's probably not what one might expect from a typical romantic comedy. And if you have only one idea of what constitutes an HEA, you might be in for a disappointment. This novel was a great pleasure to read. The writing flows easily and feels very cinematic. It's not surprising that Mernit's first calling is writing scripts. Not only is the dialogue fantastic, but all the characterizations are specific and detailed. I actually found myself picturing very particular actors in each of the roles. For example, Rachel MacAdams or Elizabeth Banks would be perfect as the spunky, sassy Naomi. And I could actually hear Ian McKellan's booming bass in the voice of Jordan's ailing friend and confidant, Leo. It's almost unfortunate that the title has already been taken by another film, because I'd look forward to seeing "Imagine Me & You" on the marquee at my local Cineplex - if Hollywood ever saw fit to make it into a movie. In t

Life imitating art

Jordan teaches a writing class. In class he teaches the seven steps to writing a romantic comedy. The steps begin with the set-up and proceed to the cute meet, complication, hook, survival, dark moment, and finish with the resolution. In addition to teaching, Jordan also is working on a draft of a script that is hopefully on the verge of becoming a movie. Jordan 's wife, Isabella, has taken their dog and headed to Italy. She is a painter and has had a hard time getting her career started. She told Jordan she was going to stay with her family because she misses them. She explained to Jordan that she needs space to think about what she truly wants. Jordan finds himself following the seven steps he teaches his students. He comes up with a plan to get his wife back home. He wants to make her jealous so she'll return. He doesn't want to really cheat on his wife, so he comes up with an imaginary girlfriend. He picks the name, Naomi, from an ex-student of his. Then he imagines how she looks and talks. Jordan gets an unexpected turn though, when Naomi takes a form of her own. She shows up everywhere, and he is the only one who can see or hear her when she talks. Some people say Naomi is like a spirit that has taken true form. Jordan is trying to get his wife back, work on his script, and keep people from thinking he is crazy by talking to himself. Just when he thinks he is getting close to what he wants, then bam! Something else unexpected happens. The characters come to life and you can feel their emotions. The little twists and turns keep the reader coming back for more. You'll laugh and cry, but its worth every minute. Armchair Interviews says: Romantic story of special interest to authors and others who love to write.

Afterglow of a good read

I haven't read a romance for a while, having been put off by the standard formula that seems ever present in this genre, I seemed to be perpetually left with a nasty aftertaste having read them. It's difficult when you are a classic romantic at heart - hungry for a really good love story yarn but find that you end up eating the McDonalds of Romance rather than a classic home cooked meal, which is why it was a lovely surprise when I read Imagine You and Me. Intelligent prose. Beautiful descriptions. Absorbing depiction of LA. Entertaining and likeable characters; both real and imaginary (I love "My Naomi"). A plot that keeps you guess until the end. And best of all a novel that leaves both smiling and with a refeshed perspective on love. More than a home cooked meal. A night out at a 5 star restaurant. Great stuff!

What Dreams Do We Make Up?

Billy Mernit's successfully leverages his career as a romantic comedy writer and teacher in his first novel, the engaging and funny "Imagine Me and You". The novel's protagonist, Jordan Moore, is a struggling "rom-com" (romantic comedy) screen writer in Los Angeles whose script is being courted by a very "now" filmmaker. This should be a good thing, but Jordan's marriage to his adored Italian wife, Isabella, is in grave danger. Because of his wife's departure back to Italy, Jordan finds himself blocked in his ability to work on his script, thus endangering his movie deal as well. He is a man both cornered and desperate, about to lose everything that matters to him. What transpires is magical and unexpected: an imaginary mistress who becomes real, changing Jordan's life in unimaginable ways. Throughout "Imagine Me and You", Mernit also leverages the typical rom-com storyline. In a satisfying hodge-podge of the expected plot rom-com twists and turns, Mernit makes sure that his romance-writing protagonist notices his own life plotting the course of a typical romantic comedy, making fun of both the genre and himself. The story reads as cleanly as if it were a movie. This book was fun to read, much like watching a movie in my head; I found myself utterly losing track of time. Jordan's journey of self-actualization was particularly engaging to me. The process of more deeply understanding one's individuality is often painful and tedious. Middle age seems to be the common time to seek answers to "deeper" questions about identity and purpose. In journeying with Jordan, I found myself wondering if I am living a life true to myself. Mernit balances both levity with profundity, but not so much of either that the story loses its momentum. All that said, the main characters were a little flat and not especially sympathetic (his minor characters flesh out more strongly), but the dialogue is good: witty and smart and real. My only real criticism of this book is this: when the story begins, Jordan's wife has only been gone two weeks. Most of the story's tension is built around this agonizing two week separation. Truthfully, this just falls flat with me. Two weeks is way too short a period of time to convince me of the extent of desperation that Jordan feels. If the story had started with Isabella already having been gone two months, all the other resulting action and emotion would be more proportionate. Given the breezy, warm, southern Californian setting of this novel, "Imagine Me and You" may just be the perfect summer read.

satirizes the romantic comedy

In Los Angeles screenwriter and instructor Jordan is upset that his wife Isabella left him, but not worried about her returning to him as he has developed the perfect plan. His scheme is simply to build on his spouse's jealousies, which will have her running home ASAP. Since Jordon knows he cannot actually cheat, he must create a girlfriend; as a screenwriter he figures on writing a character for the script. He models his imaginative girlfriend after a former student Naomi. After he begins placing evidence of a lover, Naomi shows-up. There is one problem with her; no one besides Jordan sees or hears her. Confused by Naomi pushing Jordan to come clean with what he really wants and struggling with keeping his web of lies from imploding, Jordan assumes nothing can get worse; however this is not a Hollywood script as his wife and the real Naomi come to town. Although the story line gets overwhelmed at times by the overkill of advanced screenwriting 401, IMAGINE ME AND YOU is an amusing tale that lampoons Hollywood stereotypes especially the romantic comedy images. Jordan is a fascinating lead character as he struggles between make believe and reality leading to the three women (the two Naomi's and Isabella) in and out and maybe in or out of his life. He simply lives life as the star of a romantic comedy in which Cary Grant plays him and Katherine Hepburn plays Isabella with him getting the girl at the end. Overall fun to read in spite of too much insider screenwriting slowing down the plot, Billy Mernit satirizes the romantic comedy. Harriet Klausner