Straight Man
Straight Man script by Kelly Karam is a short film story of two foolish thieves and the elderly fellow they are robbing. I had to read it a few times to know exactly how I felt about it. At first I wasn’t sure the ending really fit, because at first the thieves seem to be random, but then we find at the very end that one of them is related to the man they are stealing from. It made me wonder, didn’t they know they knew him? Some of the behaviors they had while foraging seemed to indicate that they had never been in the house before, so I wondered how could it be that one thief seems stunned later on about a family detail.
To be more specific, Matthew and Greg are not very bright, or they are hopped up on drugs. They are definitely not firing on all cylinders and aren’t very careful, as we see with the dropped Crown Royal. I like the details that explain their demeanor and mannerisms. Then when I got to the end and it was revealed that Bud is Matthew’s grandfather, because he says something about Matthew’s grandmother would be eighty-six today…I suddenly thought, ‘How is it that Matthew didn’t realize whose house he was robbing, and did he understand that this was his grandfather holding him hostage and helping him dry out?
I read it again and realized that it doesn’t much matter because there are a couple of ways to look at it. Perhaps Matthew was familiar with the house and perhaps he knew his grandfather really liked the booze, so that’s why he told Greg to leave the alcohol. Perhaps Matthew knew his grandfather was loaded and that’s why he was mostly after the checkbook, which he found and concentrated on while Greg was rounding up meds and booze. It will be a fun short to film and I can imagine the two bumbling thieves looking very awkward.
I liked the details about Bud the grandfather. He likes really loud ties. I admired his sharpness considering his age, and his resourcefulness. At first it seemed very creepy when he has Matthew tied up with loud ties and only wearing an adult diaper, but then when we learn that he’s actually detoxing Matthew, and that they are related, it makes more sense. But where did Greg go? If Matthew has been tied up a day or so, however long, by Grandpa Bud, wouldn’t Greg be looking for him? Maybe he was too high to remember where he lost Matthew.
There were some awkward sentences and a typo here and there but overall it is a very good script. I liked it more each time I read it and imagined filming the scenes. The details about what’s in Grandpa Bud’s closet and room are fun. I’d be interested to see what happens next, after Matthew is all cleaned up. Perhaps he will have a better relationship with Bud. Perhaps he and Greg will clean themselves up for good. All I know for sure is that Grandpa Bud has a really cool cane and he knows how to use it. And I hope that somewhere Grandma is watching and got to see her wish come true. I like this script and would happily film it.
