main character syndrome

Films about people who treat their own life like a movie they are starring in, and everyone around them like the supporting cast. Some of them are a delight, and some of them you would cross the street to avoid.

The delightful ones mostly direct other people's lives. Cher is at the top of the pecking order at her Beverly Hills high school in Clueless, and once she has set up two teachers she gives a klutzy new student a makeover. Amélie spends her days secretly playing matchmaker and guardian angel to strangers in Amélie, while working up the nerve to star in a love story of her own. Max Fischer in Rushmore is failing every class and running nearly every club at his school, from the beekeeping society to the school plays. Muriel Heslop moves to Sydney in Muriel's Wedding, changes her name and redesigns her life to match her fantasies.

The trouble starts when the rest of the world will not take direction. Rupert Pupkin is sure he belongs on his idol's talk show in The King of Comedy, and stalks the host to get there. Suzanne Stone wants to be a famous news anchor in To Die For, and anyone standing in her way is a problem to be removed. Lou Bloom starts out filming crime scenes for L.A. TV news in Nightcrawler and keeps moving from the edge of the story into the middle of it. In Sunset Boulevard, a silent film star long forgotten by Hollywood has a hack screenwriter write her comeback. Everyone here is ready for their close-up.