The Straitjacket Lottery (2004)

Director:

Doug Karr

Writers:

Sierra Bellows (story)
Doug Karr (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Tagline:

It's a long ride back to mental health

Plot:

When Boris Durban loses a busload of mental health patients, he'll resort to any means in order to get them back. This comedic short is a window into the erratic world of mental health and the thin line between idiosyncrasy and insanity.

Plot Keywords:

Bus | Mental Health | Illness | Hospital | Lottery

Cast

Andy Jones	...	Boris Durban
David Huband	...	Ralph Stipes
Tara Slone	...	Nancy Leah
Joe Cobden	...	Angus Weir
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Deborah Allen	...	Mrs. Gould
Sierra Bellows	...	Mental Health Patient
Stephen Coats	...	Jared
Richard Collins	...	Peter Flemming
John Davie	...	Donald Hunter
Corey Janes	...	Dean
John Maclaren	...	Lance Chancery
Kathryn MacLellan	...	Janet Knight (as Kathryn Maclellan)
Stephen Manuel	...	Jim Bostock
Nancy Marshall	...	Lucy
Daniel Matmor	...	Howard Blantyre
Sonja O'Hara	...	Mental Health Patient
Cindy Sampson	...	Sophie
Chris Sheppard	...	Lane
Stacey Smith	...	Francine Leslie
Andrew Tench	...	Elmsdale Orderly 2
Rory Young	...	Elmsdale Orderly 1

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Emmerson Denney Films

Trivia:

Nominated - Best Comedy - Canada Golden Sheaf Awards, 2004

Smart, funny and a little frightening.

This film is a very cool find. It follows the misadventures of a bus driver as he attempts to transfer a group of mental patients to a different hospital. Naturally, things go wrong. This is a smart satire of the trust we place in authority figures. We assume that someone in charge is someone to listen to and believe blindly, sometimes to our detriment. The opposite is true, too: will anyone believe what a crazy person says? I really connected with the sense of absurdity, which the filmmakers balance with the appearance of reality. This isn't something easy to achieve, so it was really satisfying to see it pulled off. The use of mental illness classifications on screen, probably inspired by the DSM-IV, was a nice touch. It gave insight into all of the characters, while parodying the urge to categorize every single personality quirk. How crazy does someone have to be to be labeled insane, and what differentiates the insane from everyone else? The cast is really good too, especially Andy Jones (of Codco fame.) His character goes through several emotional changes, and he manages to keep each one consistent and believable. I would be interested in seeing what could happen next with these characters, although it isn't actually necessary. This film stands well as it is, with a satisfying ending. I look forward to seeing what comes next from Doug Karr and Sierra Bellows.