Stuck is a 2019 comedy about a woman who must serve 30 days in the home she used to share with her ex-boyfriend, that he now shares with his new fiancee.
Sometimes you just want to do the right thing, even if you’re not the nicest person in the world anyway, and well, you pay for it. Such is the case in director Jillian Armenante‘s latest light comedy Stuck, an appealing little independent film that is farcical to say the least, not for a moment taking itself seriously as it pokes fun at just about everything, some on target and others well, hit or miss I suppose, depending where you are in your own life.
Darby (Heather Matarazzo) is just out of a lackluster relationship with Mo (Amir Talai), with even their Medieval sexual role-playing not able to spice things up. Months later, after the doctor she works for again puts more effort into a hot mom than her sick daughter, Darby steals medicine, intending on sneaking it to the girl, but when her car doesn’t start, she decides to let her frustration out in a pot-fueled, cheeseball binge night in the front seat. That gets her arrested where the judge (Joel McHale), feeling a little merciful, sentences her to 30 days in house arrest. Problem is, she doesn’t have a house so she ends up in her last stable address, Mo’s. Unfortunately, Mo’s now engaged to Chloe (Heather Turman), a straight-laced, statuesque, clean freak, and the mix is not good.
Darby is not a likable person, hating on everything, and so she has barely a shred of tolerance for anything. Armenante positions this as a positive trait since the world Darby lives in is nothing short of intolerable already. Your acceptance of Darby’s abrasive attitude will be your litmus test in having any fun with this, where the film expels a lot of energy to make it a competition between the two women in winning back or keeping Mo’s affections.
It’s this tired cliché that is the film’s central weakness where Mo’s choice in a new fiancee is of course very pretty on the outside but severely flawed on the inside, making her easy picking for a skewering. We’re meant to side with Darby of course as the movie steadily makes Chole more and more abstract, hoping to make us turn against her. Naturally, we’re supposed to question why on earth Mo would be with such a women, but all the while, I’m wondering why on earth he’d ever want to be with Darby, at least for much of the story.
Okay, so that aside, Stuck does manage to earn some genuine laughs as it pokes and prods at a few inconveniences in our daily life (with a slew of recognizable celebrity cameos). It’s low budget keeps it limited to basically the house Darby’s trapped in and admittedly, the script is mostly on point with an ensemble cast that work hard to make it click. Matarazzo is just the right fit as a frumpy, disillusioned woman of modern times trying to get her fair share, though Talai does best as the exacerbated guy caught in the middle.
There’s a lot under this obvious comedy’s hood that ring true with a few authentic moments that find their footing as we follow Darby’s misadventures with men and her choices, the movie making better headway the more it moves forward. There’s a surprising number of minor subplots in play as well that – equally surprisingly – come together with some satisfaction, which in the end is pretty much how Stuck ultimately feels. Recommended.