Every high school has two of them: The coolest of the Cool Kids. He's a star jock and Best Looking. She's head cheerleader and Most Popular. His handsome face never needs a hall pass. She's so bubbly her effervescence fizzes through the hallways. Both make honor roll with nary a struggle. Both remain untouched by teenage angst and unblemished by adolescent acne.
Natch, they're a couple—just soooo cute together, and what-they-did-in- the-All-Purpose-Room becomes local legend. Inevitably, they're elected Prom King and Queen. And everyone knew, even back in 11th grade, the golden path glinting before them: Glorious nuptials, vacations in Maui, matching his-and-her magna cum laude degrees from an Ivy League school.
15 years later—at the high school reunion, the backdrop for Where Are They Now—nothing has changed. Or so it seems. She (Jackie Hickel) is still gorgeous and chirpy. He (David Morwick) is blond, studly and slips into his old varsity jacket without strain. Their lives, like their Facebook friend accounts, appear full to bursting. Archie and Veronica are back.
But the gleaming white grins and All-American aura shield a disintegrating façade. The perfect couple is perfectly miserable. And as the film starts, they're moments away from a monumental crash-and- burn, right in the middle of their star turn on the dance floor. Breaking up is hard to do, but imagine doing it in front of a live audience.
That's the backstory—but not the secret—of Where Are They Now, a film set in 2012 but adorned with the nostalgic look and feel of the 50s (think of a Happy Days episode exquisitely shot). That aside, the storyline is strictly contemporary, so provocative that even the Fonz would be scandalized. Put it this way: What's breaking up the marriage was definitely not discussed during the Eisenhower years. Nor will I give it away here—other than to say what transpires is a radical departure from every high school reunion you've ever attended.
As the cocky jock, Morwick skillfully balances swagger with sensitivity, a neat trick to pull off in a ten minute short. Hickel is smart and quick. Somehow, in spite of the wrenching subject matter, both actors are funny, full of bravado, and ultimately endearing. Though their dialogue is pungent, even harsh, it's clear they still love each other. It's also clear that's not nearly enough to keep them together. It hurts to watch them say goodbye. The outcome of Where Are They Now jolts like Red Bull, but its pensive echo serves as a satisfying chaser, a thoughtful if bittersweet pill to swallow.
Reviewed 3/24/12 at the California International Short Film Festival.
