THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES
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PARDON OUR MESS
By Aaron Engel
SYNOPSIS:
Cliff Bell runs a high-rise construction site, a hookup rotation, and a meticulously tidy apartment — everything in his life is managed, because control is the one thing he can’t actually have. Cliff has DID, and when the wrong touch lands, Joe takes the wheel: a caustic, homophobic-adjacent teenage alter who ejects Cliff’s dates, torches his professional relationships, and leaves messages in lube on the bathroom mirror. When his longtime therapist declares he’s taken Cliff as far as he can and the specialist referral falls through, Cliff’s carefully compartmentalized system starts springing leaks. A payroll dispute with a crew member escalates while Joe fronts mid-crisis, his leadman and best friend Jimmy runs interference the way only chosen family can, and a hookup named Mikey shows up with roses and a dangerous question: what if this were more than sex? Forced to disclose his diagnosis for the first time, Cliff discovers the terrifying possibility that someone might want all of him — alters included. Meanwhile, Joe starts leaving video messages for Cliff, the first fragile attempt at communication between two people sharing one body. Pardon Our Mess is a raunchy, big-hearted half-hour comedy about identity, chosen family, and learning that healing isn’t about control — it’s about management.
PARDON OUR MESS
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1 person likes this
You know what Aaron, as I read the synopsis I was picturing it and chuckling away. I like the logline, I think it captures the chaos of Cliff and Joe's shared life and you definitely hit the right comedic tone. I also enjoyed reading the script and having read it, just wondered if you couldn't go further with the chaotic nature of Cliff and Joe's relationship in the logline? It's a real fun read.
1 person likes this
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for.reading. I do tend to tweak the loglines when I find a better angle. I’ll try and play that angle in the next iteration.
I hear ya - I'm a serial tweaker with my logline - it's like if I spent longer writing the blimin' script than trying to fine tune the ruddy logline I might get on better. Rant over. Did you consider turning this into a series?
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I would absolutely love for this to be a series. I’m unrepped at the moment and I know the statistics around uncredited/ unrepped writers selling series. So I’m fine tuning as much as I can in hopes of getting it in front of someone with power and developing it.
Cliff is a challenging role too. It asks a lot of an actor, so that’s a particular hurdle, but one that could be attractive to an unknown. (Although someone with money might prefer a known talent to mitigate risk—Hollywood gonna Hollywood.)
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