James B Brandt

By James B. Brandt

 

(WGA-W Registration # 1565239)

 

Genre: Romance/Comedy

 

Logline: When SUSAN's father PAUL decides to remarry, it looks like a good thing until daughter SUSAN discovers that ELAINE is sugar on the outside and pure evil at heart.  With time running out, Fate arrives in the form of a mysterious CHINESE BABYSITTER and a magical transformation of CARROT, SUSAN’s IRISH SETTER, into a beautiful, smart, loving woman. But will this be enough to save Paul from the clutches of his manipulative fiancé? Maybe - if the dog gone magic is quick enough.

 

Synopsis: Paul has decided his young daughter Susan needs a woman in her life. He thinks he has found the perfect woman: Elaine. But Susan and their Irish Setter, Carrot, know her sweet personality is just a shell and she has a secret plan to ship Susan off to boarding school and the dog to the pound.

 

With only thirty days before the wedding, Susan is frantic. But something has happened to Carrot. She is getting smarter and much more protective. That is when a mysterious baby sitter from Hong Kong enters and discovers that Carrot is more than just a dog.

 

Over the following month, Carrot takes a hand in showing Paul just what is underneath the caring front Elaine puts forward.  Carrot manages to soak Elaine on a golfing trip, then to steal and bury her clothes while Elaine is drying off.  She constantly finds ways to annoy Elaine, revealing the inner feelings of Paul's fiancé.  Meanwhile, she is showing more and more advanced thought processes and she is more attentive to Paul and Susan.

 

Then CHI LAN appears - a mysterious Chinese babysitter.  By reading her Tarot card, she has determined that Carrot will change at the next full moon. Together with Susan, they devise a plan to introduce the new Carrot as a monkey wrench in Elaine's plan.  The problem is: neither one knows what Carrot will change into.

 

But what a surprise when Susan discovers a beautiful girl with long red hair is standing on her doorstep in the rain.  With Chi Lan's knowledge of ancient Chinese herbs, CARROT begins to talk - with a striking Irish accent, of course. And the plan is born to take one shot at winning Paul's affections from Elaine.

 

The next day, Susan takes Carrot shopping.  They are preparing for a night surprise for Paul: he is taking Carrot to dinner. Time to see if a little doggie magic can balance out the spell woven by Elaine. Oh, and what a wonderful night! There is magic in the air, and Paul is completely captivated. But just like Cinderella, Carrot's time runs out when the sun rises. Caught on the beach she must get away from Paul before she changes back into a dog. The plan to have Paul fall in love with this new friend is thwarted before it can be concluded and Paul is bound for the wedding that very night.

 

Paul cannot get the human version of Carrot out of his mind. No question he has fallen for her, but where did she go? She ran off and he has no way to find her. The wedding is that night. It is too late for Paul to back out. Susan and Carrot are devastated, and Elaine insists that Carrot be chained before they leave for their moonlight wedding. But the baby sitter is not invited to the wedding; Elaine would not have foreigners. Chi Lan reaches Carrot right as the moon is rising. Releasing her from her chains, she sees the Irish Setter racing off for the wedding.   Oh what a time at the wedding when Carrot the human arrives... without her fur coat.  Magic indeed.