Leading psychologists and numerous studies show that if a friendship lasts longer than seven years, you will be friends forever. I mean, who can argue with that? It’s science, right? Since the number seven is perennial throughout the cosmos and intertwined in almost every single shrine of success and goodness, it only makes sense for a friendship to be cemented in that magical timeframe. That being said, leading psychologists do not divulge the intricacy and infinity of the painful and destructive instances in these friendships, threatening the bonds of their pure love.
Therefore, is love not just an expression of familiarity over time, but rather this “pure” product of countless good memories and camaraderie within the experiences that occur? Two Ways to Go West offers a glimpse into the sobering madness that adult life gifts to childhood friends trying to survive in the real world, as they try to forgive and forget their pasts.
“Unbeknownst to Marty and Shane, he is a ‘recovering’ drug addict, and millimeters away from the brink…”
The piece fades in with the film’s writer, editor, producer, and star Gavin (James Liddell) driving to Las Vegas for a stag party with childhood friends Marty (Paul Gennaro), and the groom-to-be Shane (Drew Kenney). Gavin, a former actor, is in spiritual hell after he went off the rails as his career hit a rut. All he has left is the fearful and downward spiral of self-uncertainty he’s circling, as he teeters on the knife’s edge. Unbeknownst to Marty and Shane, he is a “recovering” drug addict, and millimeters away from the brink as he stashes pills behind the bathroom mirror while covering his actions with a running tap.
After the trio returns to their hotel from a night out, the evening turns to deep, meaningful conversations, the friends put themselves on the line, saying things that can’t be said tomorrow day. Marty takes out a board game that the three made together and used to play when they were kids, the aptly named “Flip The Board.” The scenes that ensue as they play are exactly the sequences of events that one would observe whilst watching three children go at it. Gavin has a problem with Shane, while Marty is the peacekeeper, simultaneously mediating and befriending both warring parties.
"…the entire piece is essentially a stage play set in a hotel room with five acts."
