Foil

Character Role Analysis

Melanie/Mitch and Melanie/Annie

Mitch is the flirty, teasing, deceitful-but-deep-down-honest hero who brings out the flirty, teasing, deceitful-but-deep-down-honest nuances of Melanie's character—for the first part of the film, at least. After that, they're battling the birds, and Mitch mostly turns into a boring romantic hero as a foil to Melanie's boring, frightened romantic victim.

Annie and Melanie are both interested in Mitch, but the similarities end there. In our first glimpse of Annie, her down-to-earth (literally—she's been gardening) appearance and attitude immediately highlight Melanie's golden-girl appearance and upper-class status. She's got a profession and seems to care about people; Melanie has been a socialite and all about herself up until this point. Annie seems 1,000 percent more substantial a person than flighty Melanie. She's the perfect foil.