What kind of douchebag would fake his own death to see who shows up to his funeral? Indeed, in the comedy Friended to Death, there’s a reason why everyone calls Michael Harris a douchebag. He is a colossal jerk who revels in the misfortunes of others. In his job as a parking enforcement officer, he’s a gleeful Johnny Appleseed of misery. Worse yet, he is a social media addict who narcissistically insists on constantly blasting his escapades on Facebook and Twitter. He’s oblivious that his own social media proves himself to be the asshole everybody says that he is.
You know that Michael is ripe for a comeuppance, and he gets a dose of his own medicine when one of his premature vehicle tows unleashes an unhinged enemy for life. There are plenty of madcap moments as Michael (Ryan Hansen from TV’s Friends with Benefits) and his reluctant co-conspirator Emile (James Immekus) frantically try to conceal their hoax.
Friended to Death writer-director Sarah Smick and co-writer Ian Michaels archly comment on the “social” in social media. Their Michael Harris says “I have 417 friends – you don’t expect me to know ALL of them!” and “I speak in text”. Really smart comedy writing is pretty rare, and Smick and Michaels have the gift. Michaels got the idea after reading about a guy who faked his own death and wrote scathing rebukes to those who missed his faux memorial. By dropping that kernel into our current environment of over-sharing, Smick and Michaels were able to alchemize it into a biting social satire.
Smick and Michaels are longtime collaborators who married last October. In 2011, Smick and Michaels brought their equally funny Here’s the Kicker to Cinequest; (Michaels directed that one). Here’s the Kicker is available streaming on YouTube and is also is out on DVD.
In Friended to Death, Smick and Michaels play characters trying to expose the fraud. They are very good in their roles, as is veteran Robert R. Shafer (Bob Vance in The Office) as that boss who just can’t restrain himself from yelling.
In Friended to Death, TMI becomes LOL. Pointedly smart and well-crafted dark comedies don’t come along every day. Don’t miss Friended to Death, playing again at Cinequest tonight and on Friday.