Give Them El!
When atheist Eldin finds himself before the gates of Heaven, he discovers
his selfless and sinful acts are tied; forcing one final choice to enter Heaven or Hell.
In almost every genre, good news/bad news choices rule. In horror, there’s the Monkey’s Paw dilemma. In thriller-actions-mysteries: the inevitable, sneak up on ‘em from behind “twist.”
In comedy, good news/bad news even has it’s own joke sub-genre. Whether it’s a stand up punchline or film short, one rule of thumb applies: the greater and more karmic the “bad news” is revealed to be… the more uproarishly funny the end result.
Funny for the audience, that is. But for the poor “victim"? Such turns of fate can be tragic. Sometimes even life ending…
Though, when Aaron Ridenour’s giggle fest Give Them El opens on protagonist Eldin “El” Summers, the quandary of protecting his life is… well, already almost moot.
You see, Eldin and wife Marcy have just been in an epic fendbender. In classic medical drama mode, the ER docs do what they can… which is to say, not nearly enough. El flatlines – and as he narrates – tragically departs this world.
EL (V.O.)
Thinking back on my life,
I really only have one regret.
El's body rises from the table, current coursing through him. The cardiac monitor gives a persistent HUM.
EL (V.O.)
I let my wife drive the car.
Wait… “rises from the table”? Yup, you got that right, gentle reader. Eldin’s on his way… UP THERE.
Sooner than you can say “George Burns”, Eldin finds himself in a misty waiting room. Appropriately named “Angel” is asking questions and taking notes with her clipboard. Her holy responsibility: to determine who in this limbo-esque lobby has done enough good to mosey on along to heaven.
OR – to find themselves ejected and dropped… down there.
Well, thanks to Angel and El’s back and forth, it quickly becomes apparent he hasn’t been a saint. There’s what he did on Spring Break ‘97. Tsk-tsk. Naughty. And El's atheistic beliefs. That’s – uh – frowned upon, too.
In fact, when the numbers are crunched, turns out… El’s sins and good deeds are TIED. Pardon the pun, but it's a dead heat. Thinking quick, El does something nice, letting another patron go ahead of him. Viola: El's gaming the system works. Winning him a ticket to heaven, guaranteed!
Except… remember that good news/bad news dynamic? Record scratch.
Guess who’s waiting for El inside the pearly gates?
Wife Marcy. And those two… don’t make good company. Especially after the accident. Or their marriage at all these days. Especially where eternity’s involved.
What to do? Where to go? And how?
And will it ultimately be any better if El opts for the “other” alternative? And if you think you know where this rollercoaster of a short will end… you don’t!
Give Them El just needs the right comedic actors to shine. Limited location and driven by dialogue, it doesn’t take much to do this little gem right. But will El HIMSELF do right? Read Give Them El, and find out!