'Stuck' (2019) Review

Starring Ruth Goodwin and Kristopher Turner as Natalie and Mark, respectively, Stuckis one of those drama shorts that explores difficult dynamics of a complicated relationship.

Stuck, for a short that runs no longer than 15-minutes, is crammed with meaningful dialogue, which most people can relate to on a personal level.

Written and directed by Corey Shurge, the short opens with Natalie and Mark in a sexually-explicit scene. During the scene, while I was trying to figure out why Natalie would want to talk about Schrodinger’s cat, when Mark is seen with a silver-blue Swarovski topped butt plug.

Rather than for Mark to use on himself, Natalie apparently purchased the item online, so that he could insert it into… you know where. We really don’t need a diagram. Most adults know what a butt plug is for and where it goes.

Natalie is using the story of Schrodinger’s cat as a segue to get Mark to discuss their relationship.

The Schrodinger’s cat thought experiment, named for Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, pertains to the problem of Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics as it is applied to everyday objects.

In 1935, the Austrian physicist suggested a scenario in which a hypothetical cat may be simultaneously both alive and dead. This state, as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur, is known as quantum superposition.

Because of Schrödinger coining term Verschränkung (entanglement) during the development of his thought experiment, this is where we get the terminology quantum entanglement.

Relatively speaking, a relationship is a form of entanglement.

Do Natalie and Mark have a relationship? Like Schrodinger’s cat, if the door remains closed, it’s possible the relationship Natalie and Mark have could simultaneously exist and not exist. Natalie wants to open the door to see what’s there.

Natalie and Mark have been together for three months. How is this not a relationship? What is the relationship to Mark? Even though it is an important question, Mark doesn’t seem interested in either thinking about it or responding to it with a meaningful answer that would satisfy Natalie.

Mark tells Natalie that he likes spending time with her, and that she’s “a good activity partner.” That’s new. I’ve never heard of anyone being described as an activity partner before. There is an obvious degree of emotional detachment that comes with the use of such a phrase.

Is Mark saying that he sees Natalie as his f***buddy? That’s the way it comes across in the scene when he said, “a good activity partner.”

Despite Mark not wanting anything serious, Natalie doesn’t want to be in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere. It’s at this point in the conversation that Natalie realises that she has a problem. The butt plug, instead of falling out, has somehow fallen in and is Stuck inside her… you know what.

Despite it being at least a tad funny, from either perspective, that’s not a position I’d want to be in, and I’m pretty sure no one reading this article would want to find themselves in it either.

Mark attempts but fails to extract the item. Subsequently, after exploring their options, they end up going to the hospital to get it removed. Fortunately for Natalie, with her being in Canada, she’s not going to face an obscenely high medical bill for her hospital visit. If she were in these United States, that bill would have been a given. Trust me, I know the cost of not having access to universal healthcare.

Natalie wants a meaningful relationship with someone that she can trust. Even though Mark apparently said upfront that he didn’t want anything serious with her, Natalie has a point.

“We all say that,” Natalie said. “And we all secretly hope that someone will come along and change our minds.”

The characters deeply explore their beliefs about relationships. While Mark believes relationships are “transitory,” Natalie understands that “the pain of losing someone is the price of having them” in your life.

The short closes with Natalie and Mark going to breakfast at the local vegan place around the corner from where she lives. It’s a fun production with a lot going on.

Stuck proves that you don’t need a huge cast to create something entertaining when two actors can provide all the content you need. Incidentally, not that it matters in the greater scheme of things, Natalie is absolutely the type of person I’d want to be in a meaningful relationship if I were either heterosexual or bisexual.

Natalie has a caring heart, and only wants for the person she is with to care for her as much as she cares for them. What more could you possibly want?

Rightfully so, inclusive of the winning the Best Romantic Comedy Award at the 2018 discover film Awards and the Canada First Award at the 2019 Lakeshorts International Short Films Festival, Stuck was seen at numerous film festivals.

Stuck is available for you to watch on Amazon Prime.