Do you see it? Can you picture the whole story? There are so many things to say about the title of this 1987 movie starring Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito, and the late Anne Ramsey of Goonies fame. While my main contemplation is about how it conveys a story in five words, there are other elements worth mentioning.
But first, do you agree with me that the title is a complete story unto itself?
Right off, we have an idea about the characters, their motivations, the plot, and the setting. We know that the protagonist both loves and hates their mother. We know the antagonist has done enough awful things to be worthy of being thrown off a train, or at least having a child fantasize about it, and we get the struggle. There will likely be attempted murder action on a train. We might also guess the outcome. Could you throw your mother off a train no matter how you felt about her? Of course, we can’t foresee all the plot twists and surprises and there are many in this comedy action film, but these five words have me imagining all sorts of things.
Other information gleaned from these five words that I particularly enjoy is that they sound like a book title, which it is. So, we might grasp that element right off as well. I love that this is about a creative writing teacher and writer suffering writer’s block after his ex-wife steals his book and makes millions with it. No one could pull off that maddening fate like Billy Crystal. Throw in an emotionally stunted student who gets the brilliant idea to switch murders in a Hitchcockian Crisscross-type alibi story, and wow! So much to work with.
The creators not only conveyed a story in their title, but they could use the group of clever words as a plot device and a marketing boon… along with the hilarious images of Momma.
What other movie titles can you think of that accomplish this?
Here are some I found:
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
- Saving Private Ryan
- Tower Heist
- Snakes on a Plane
Granted, these might be more about revealing the plots in the titles than giving us a whole story, but I get a lot of information from their brevity, nonetheless. Don’t you?
I’ve also saved a few memes that convey a story in a handful of words. Here’s a favorite.
The challenge of conveying so much with so few words fascinates me, and I’ve returned to it time and again as I pursue novel writing. One of my favorite exercises was contributing two sentence stories last year to fantasy author Richie Billing for his newsletter (which he packs full of helpful resources for writers by the way). One of those is the header on my Short Stories page, Sad Swallow. Oh, alright. I’ll just add it here. It’s only two sentences.
In a voice that plucked at her heart strings, her dear swallow lamented, “All winter we exchanged stories, my beautiful Thumbelina, and it made my heart soar. When you climbed upon my back and begged me to take you to my favorite far away land, how could I have known my happy dream would end with you forsaking me for another?”
Ahem… Okay, so, they’re two long sentences. Still, two sentences. For more of these, click here. They were such a blast to do and based on a genre prompt from Richie. Sad Swallow obviously is a fairytale retelling.
I’ve also tried my hand at 100-word and 250-word stories in what are referred to as drabbles or micro fiction. And I just signed up for another 250-word micro fiction challenge with Writing Battle, taking place in August. So many good things happening on that platform! Thanks Max and Teona!
My latest endeavors in brief tales include poetry, which I’ve written to accompany three stories I will be publishing in one volume later this year. I’m very excited about what I came up with after thinking for years that I could never write poetry. It’s so satisfying and fun!
If you dare, check out my series of three 100-word horror stories here. And my 250-word action adventure drama here (with a bit of ranting on my excellent feedback).
Thanks for tripping with me over the title, Throw Momma From the Train, and have an excellent rest of your June.
By D. L. Lewellyn 