Sadie Mitchell (Marin Ireland) is a young woman in Philadelphia struggling to rebuild her life after a failed stint as an actress. She is having an affair with her boss, Dr. Mark Gibson (Gerry Lehane), who is married to Julie (Yvonne Woods). She is fascinated by a painting in her workplace, which was created by Nelson Hodge (Alvin Keith), a struggling painter with undiagnosed Asperger's. After getting drunk at a party, she wakes up in Nelson's apartment. The next night, the two have a one night stand, which leads to an awkward relationship.
If You Could Say It In Words contains examples of:
- Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults: Sadie quit acting after a disastrous audition during which the judges kept reading and talking to each other instead of watching her. In the bathroom afterwards, she heard them laughing about how lousy she was and accusing her of using the Casting Couch to get the audition.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Nelson tells Sadie that he calls his dad "Michael."
- Contemplation Location: Sadie shows Nelson a playground where she used to hang out as a kid. Her mom was an alcoholic, so she used the playground as her thinking spot.
- A Degree in Useless: Sadie complains that her degree only qualifies her to earn more degrees.
- Eccentric Artist: Nelson attributes some of his autistic traits to this trope. When Sadie is surprised by his low pain tolerance, he says, "I'm an artist. That means I'm sensitive or some crap."
- Endearingly Dorky: When Nelson shares yet another piece of etymological trivia, Sadie says, "Oh my God, you are a geek! That's cute!" Nelson isn't flattered, since the word has been used as an insult against him.
- Flashback: Kind of a weird example. During a flashback to Sadie's days as an actress, Past-Sadie not only exchanges dialogue with other characters, she also narrates as Present-Sadie.
- Grammar Nazi: Nelson, which he attributes to his grandfather, who was a very strict English teacher. He and his family got so used to correcting each other that he still automatically corrects other people.
- Held Back in School: Sadie's family moved around so much when she was a teen that it disrupted her education. She didn't graduate high school until she was twenty.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Maria (Susanna Guzman) threatens Sadie, "I've known that boy since I was no taller than a fire hydrant. You break his heart, I'll have to kill you. Slow."
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Nelson loves his cat George, whom he calls his best friend.
- Military Brat: Sadie's dad was in the navy. He resigned his commission when Sadie was sixteen. The family then moved to Santa Fe, to Sadie's delight, as she'd lived next to the ocean her entire life and found the desert wonderfully strange.
- Not Staying for Breakfast: Subverted. Sadie wakes up in Nelson's apartment, thinking she's alone until he suddenly walks into the room. He tells her that he bought her coffee and a sweet bun, and that they did not have sex.
- Sensitive Artist: Discussed by Nelson in response to Sadie who is surprised by his low pain tolerance: "I'm an artist. That means I'm sensitive or some crap."
- Starving Artist: Nelson longs for the opportunity to sell out, but nobody's buying. One scene has him listening to a series of messages on his phone about how he's behind on different payments.
- Tears of Joy: Sadie remembers crying with excitement when she saw that an associate producer had written "Will be a star," underlined twice, next to her name on a playbill.
- Title Drop: When Mark finally buys one of Nelson's paintings, Nelson says, "I don't know what to say." Mark replies, "If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint. Edward Hopper."
- Tomboyish Name: Nelson's older sister Samantha, who goes by Sam. Her tomboyish traits vanished after she hit puberty, but the nickname stuck.
