By Jan Hamilton
Directors: Mallory Everton, Stephen Meek, Screenwriters: Whitney Call, Mallory Everton, Producers: Scott Christopherson, Stephen Meek, Abi Nielson Hunsaker
Two directionless sisters brave a cross-country road trip to rescue their grandmother from a COVID outbreak at her nursing home. Cast List: Whitney Call, Mallory Everton, Anne Sward Hansen, Julia Jolley, Baylee Thornock, Jessica Drolet, Stephen Meek, Tyler Andrew Jones, Noah Kershisnik, Justin Call (World Premiere)
Early in the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, sisters Jamie and Blake decide to rescue their grandmother from her nursing home, to keep her safe. They have spoken to her and she wants to go with them. The third sister Erin is on a cruse with husband and kids. It will be a twenty hour drive without stops, from Albuquerque to Washington state. The two women are funny as they chat with each other. They laugh and sing with the radio. Blake has recently met and hooked up with Scott in a one night stand. She keeps accidentally sending
the same GIF to him, but he doesn’t reply. Scott’s roommate sends a text saying Scott has died of COVID, but later Blake gets a naked picture of Scott, and then sees him talking live, on the cell phone. Scott later texts to ask for Blake’s Hulu password. Jamie getsa call from the parent who took home the class mice due to the school closure, it seems one mouse has given birth, another has eaten all the other mice, and the student has executed the lone survivor for murdering the family. The parent threatens to have Jamie fired.
They stop to pick up grandma’s dog, but the person caring for it makes them wait because he is trying to mate the dog with another,they accidentally break their car, and have to roller blade to sister Erin’s house. There they find everyone from the cruse, plus Erin and family, all without masks or social distancing, having a party. The three sisters race to the nursing home and are met with shocking news.
This film was written by Mallory Everton and Whitney Call, who play Jamie and Blake, and directed by Mallory and her husband Stephen Meek. It is a breezy and funny film, with well developed characters and a good story line. I don’t think setting the film during the pandemic will limit it’s appeal. It is well worth your time.