This film takes a young man through his bildungsroman, the quest of self-discovery. Interestingly the story is framed as the quest for his father's approval, but in the end of the story, the suggestion is that perhaps he will have to lend himself his own approval instead, because working from the negative place of "needing approval" makes him chronically narcissistic and escapist, but by arranging himself the other way around, perhaps he could be powerful.
He uses women throughout the story to bolster his own efforts, but the girls know better than to allow it. Della, Nancy, Helen, Elizabeth, Karen, and Isabel all know Rick, but Rick doesn't necessarily understand himself the way they do, not until he faces the facts about his life as a screenwriter, hoping to demonstrate something from his life that will be encouraging to others on his quest. Then, he realizes that he has been learning about himself all along.
His quest for his father's desire turns into a quest for his own self. Without a strong home base, he tries to do the right thing, but he is desperate and chronically underwhelming. To compensate, sometimes he resorts to narcissism or escapism because he wants to be at peace, and because he puts an incredible amount of pressure on himself to succeed. What would it take for him to be at peace? He would need to take the carrot off of his stick and eat it, moving from a place of self-approval and responsibility.
