Movie
Private Resort
Narrative tropes
The Girl Is the Prize
highBen and Jack's explicit goal from the outset is 'meeting women,' framing female characters as objectives rather than people. Dana is introduced only as 'a pretty waitress' Ben falls for, with no independent goals, arc, or agency of her own. Her feelings are assumed rather than developed ('apparently winning Dana's affection'). Romance stems from proximity (she works at the resort) and Ben's antics rather than mutual growth. The resolution bundles 'Maestro foiled + Ben gets Dana' as the twin payoffs, confirming Dana functions as Ben's earned reward. Removing Dana would leave the plot entirely intact.
About this trope: A female character functions primarily as a reward for the male hero's success — part of the victory package alongside saving the world — rather than as a character with her own arc and agency.
Movies that share these tropes
Full plot (spoilers)
Ben (Rob Morrow) and Jack (Johnny Depp) are two teenage best friends who check into a luxurious Miami-area resort for a wild weekend with one goal: meeting women. Jack is the carefree womanizer — the self-styled 'devil' of the duo — while Ben is the more romantic 'angel,' who quickly falls for Dana, a pretty waitress working at the resort. Their hormone-driven escapades generate a string of slapstick misadventures around the property. Running parallel to the boys' romantic pursuits is the scheme of the Maestro (Hector Elizondo), a slick jewel thief who has targeted the diamond necklace belonging to Mrs. Amanda Rawlings (Dody Goodman), a ditzy, wealthy older socialite also staying at the resort. The Maestro cycles through a series of absurd disguises and exaggerated foreign accents in order to charm and manipulate Mrs. Rawlings and get close enough to steal her jewels. Complicating matters further, Jack becomes fixated on seducing Bobbie (Leslie Easterbrook), the Maestro's voluptuous wife, setting him on a collision course with the criminal. Ben, meanwhile, poses as the hotel barber and accidentally destroys the Maestro's prized hairpiece, triggering a furious chase that tears through the resort and crashes into an aerobics class. The two storylines — the boys' romantic misadventures and the Maestro's jewel heist — become increasingly entangled as Jack and Ben blunder into the thief's plans at every turn. The film resolves in broad comic fashion, with the Maestro's scheme foiled and the boys' weekend escapades coming to a head, Ben apparently winning Dana's affection while Jack's relentless pursuit of women meets its own comedic conclusion.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb, B&S About Movies, Second Union (Vintage Summer review)