This variation on Amborse Bierce’s “Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” short story perfectly illustrates the fantasy of every kid who was ever picked on in school, and it’s to put he and his classmates in a life-threatening situation that only he can save them from.
In “The Bus Stop,” we watch a boy refusing to stand up for himself as he is picked on by a group of bullies on his way to the bus stop. Once upon the bus, he continues to be harassed by the same dickheads as wads of paper and squirt guns are fired at him. But as fate would have it, the bus is hijacked by a group of terrorists who demand a ransom for the lives of the children on the bus. It is then up to the hassled boy to use the science kit in his backpack to concoct a scheme to save everyone.
Excellently made, it’s no wonder that “The Bus Stop” won the 1999 Audience Award at Nodance. Director Will Hartman has a real connection with what it’s like to be picked on in school. Now, I’d like to see something with a dodgeball theme and I would be in heaven! I know I’ve mentioned it before, but let me reiterate by saying that it’s the sport of the future.
