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Mayhem

Mayhem

Logline

In the fictional suburban paradise of Bethlehem, Ontario Jack and Jackie prepare to divorce after 25 years of marriage when their only daughter, Belle, announces she’s pregnant but refuses to share the name of the father until her parents work their problems out.

After 25 years of routine marital dysfunction Jack makes plans to go rock climbing on his anniversary. Furious his wife Jackie parks his car in a hospital parking garage. Later that day “graded” therapy is toxic. The therapist gives Jack and Jackie a “D-” for the session. Jackie resolves to leave Jack for good. Jack’s response is predictably abject. Jackie shares her decision via FaceTime with her best friend, Viola – a divorce attorney by day and wedding planner by night; and, later, with a bucket of regret, tells Belle, her adult daughter with Jack. Belle, however, has news of her own, namely, that she is newly pregnant. Eavesdropping outside Belle’s room Jack reveals himself and demands to know who the baby’s father is. Belle, however, emphatically refuses to disclose his name – not until her parents work their problems out. That night at an anniversary dinner arranged by Belle, Jack confesses that he has massively screwed up and tells Jackie he wants to change. Jack falls to his knees and asks Jackie to get married all over again. And, not at town hall like the first time. Moved to tears Jackie berates Jack for being the worst and then enthusiastically accepts. Though plans for the wedding progress, Jack’s new and lucrative business account for hotel room hot tubs brings him into proximity with a casino which unluckily triggers a return of his gambling habit. He ends up losing the 50K that he and Jackie allocate for their nuptials. Furious with herself for trusting Jack, Jackie decides to visit an ex-boyfriend, Drew, with whom she has secretly remained in contact via letters for 25 years. Jack finds out about Drew (who it turns out owns one of his signature hot tubs) and confronts Jackie and Drew about their “pen pal” affair. Jackie admits to the secret correspondence and Jack concedes that he has a gambling addiction. With the truth out, Jack and Jackie cancel their wedding but vow to recover their partnership for the long-term. Though Belle’s pregnancy turns out to be a false positive, she ends up getting married to the man of her dreams, the last person on earth Jack and Jackie would suspect.

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