Does your script have a bit with a dog?
'The Bit with the Dog' is a shortcut to getting your audience to identify with a character. Usually it has no relation to the plot, but it shows us they're kind, down to earth, nice to animals, etc...
Well known 'Bits with the Dog':
* "You've Got Mail" put theirs in their commercials (just in case we didn't already like Tom Hanks)
* "Iron Man 2" gave theirs to an antagonist, Ivan. His fondness of his pet bird helped us not feel turned off when he was on-screen, even if he was acting against Tony Stark. (They also upped his cred by showing how Stark respected his work)
* I've heard *Sideways* used a lead's handling of grapes on the vine as their bit, but I haven't seen it recently so YMMV
* "Con Air" did a rare reverse-bit between Malkovich's character and the rapist. By insulting the rapist the film gave its audience permission to identify with the cons and their goal of escaping captivity
(This could lead to a discussion of 'people/plots we engage with even if we don't want them to succeed,' but that's another post...)
* The bit in "State of Play?" Debatable, but I say.... The Cheetos. Usually the bit shows a character is kind, but when a lead is smart-with-a-capital-S it's used to show they're normal. By showing the lead throw back a Cheetos bag at a red light we know we're allowed to identify with him. He may be brilliant at his job, but he's still 'like us'
* "Jurassic Park" did this with Alan Grant and the computer. No matter how many letters come after his name he still can't get near a computer w/o futzing things up. We get that
* (Acceptable alt for "Jurassic Park" is taking down the snotty kid without raising his voice. We immediately knew we liked this guy - plus it was a non-infodump way to introduce the terror of the raptors)
* In "The Taking of Pelham 123" (remake) the bit was when Garber spilled his coffee. Did he cuss? Shoot nasty looks at the applause from his co-workers? Nope, he just laughed it off. This showed that despite his meteoric rise in the company he still had little ego and a sense of humor
* My favorite is from Independence Day. It comes when the president hears someone use a snarky Dickens reference to attack him. "That's quite clever," he replies. Like the Pelham example, this shows a lack of 'preciousness' and a refusal to take things personally
NOTE: The bit SHOULD NOT be its own scene unless it's part of a montage of life before the inciting incident. Remember: it's not something we need for the plot. It's there to engage us with the characters.
You may have noticed these occur early in their films. If we already don't like a character then by the time you wedge this in it may be useless.
(Or you could be hinting that the character is not what he seems. Dead handy, isn't it?)
