In A Fantastic Relationship, writer/director/star Bridge Stuart delivers a hilarious and heartfelt portrait of post-breakup chaos when two exes fake being together for one night.
After a dramatic breakup over his god-awful tattoo of her face, Brian (Bridge Stuart) and Katie (Nikki McKenzie) agree that their relationship has become unsustainable. Katie is frustrated by Brian’s impulsiveness, while Brian thinks Katie neither supports nor understands him. With both leaning on friends for support—Laura (Hilty Bowen) for Katie and Derek (Dustin Hahn) for Brian—they begin the process of moving on. However, Katie’s sister Natalie unexpectedly invites her to a dinner party and assumes the couple is still together. Katie’s competitive nature forces her to beg Brian to pretend they’re still dating for one final night, even offering him $1,000 for the charade.
Brian reluctantly agrees, and with the dinner party looming, he must pass as a successful financial expert to impress Katie’s sister. They seek help from their friend Arnold (Will Maddon) to refine his persona. Along the way, the exes are forced to confront their unresolved issues and personal flaws, made worse by run-ins with people who highlight their emotional shortcomings.
“…two exes fake being together for one night…”
Brian brings Katie to meet Hannah, a meditation-focused therapist who bluntly describes Brian as emotionally neutered—a comment that sends him into a panic attack. Desperate for relief, they visit Derrell (Gerald Sanders), a man Katie mistakes for a therapist but who actually trains therapy dogs. The night becomes a chaotic and revealing odyssey for both Brian and Katie as they are forced to examine their breakup and what it will take to move forward.
A Fantastic Relationship is a sweet little comedy about the people in our lives and how maybe listening to them might actually make us better people. It’s also a story of learning to move on in life. Writer/director/star Bridge Stuart offers a great deal of insight into the subject in his humorous look into relationships. He spotlights both the good and mostly bad with the key ingredient being able to look at our lives and accept we’re not perfect.
As Brian and Katie, leads Stuart and McKenzie understand their characters perfectly in context to the story. As actors, they pull off the important character design of two very flawed people with zero self-awareness. It’s tough to pull this off without tipping their hand to the audience.
Where A Fantastic Relationship succeeds is by instantly connecting with the audience with a dumb tattoo and then just escalating Brian and Katie’s problems to a sweet and cringe ending.
A Fantastic Relationship proves that sometimes the messiest endings make for the most entertaining stories. Stuart’s knack for exposing emotional flaws with humor and honesty makes this a must-watch for anyone who’s ever been too stubborn to admit they were wrong—especially with a thousand bucks on the line.
For screening information, visit the official website of A Fantastic Relationship.
"…two very flawed people with zero self-awareness..."
