Slamdance 2024: RESTORAGE
Grief can do crazy things to a family. Sometimes it can bring them closer together, but it can just as often drive them apart. When that happens, what do you do? If you had the chance to bring them back together, no matter the cost, would you? E’an Verdugo and Caleb Davis’ Restorage, a half-hour dramedic pilot that screened at Slamdance, takes this idea to fantastic, sci-fi lengths with a clever script and an ending that keeps you waiting for the next episode to drop.
A Funny Sci-fi Fantasy
We follow Chase (Connor Boyd), the perceived slacker of the family as he grieves his estranged father’s passing. Along with his brother (Jacob Daniels) and sister (Olivia Clari Nice), he attends the will reading. Sister gets the family estate and heirloom vase, Brother becomes head of the family enterprises, and Chase gets…a business card with a storage unit number, code, and the message: “Fix what’s broken…” Upset at being overlooked once again, he investigates the unit and finds only a single box containing family photos and letters. Furious, he trashes the box and smashes a photo before leaving, locking his cracked cell phone inside. He realizes it’s forgotten, and reopens the unit to find his phone, and the photo, fixed. He soon realizes that anything he breaks, whatever he throws inside can be fixed. But is it enough to fix his family?
Verdugo and Davis’ tight and witty script shines through every scene, with each line deftly delivered by Boyd and his siblings, especially. Nice also brings a performance with a balance of sympathy and pity for Chase that comes standard in a dysfunctional family, but despite his slip-ups, Boyd is endearing as hell and you can’t help but root for him to prove his family right. As the story unfolds and the powers of the unit become revealed, both the comedy and the emotional core of a family enduring grief as well as an ill mother remain staunchly at the forefront. Like any good pilot, Restorage leaves you wondering just how we got here, and where we’re going next.
Check out more of Film Inquiry’s Slamdance 2024 coverage HERE.
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