''Stuck'' is a 2001

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Jamie Babbit Jamie Merill Babbit (born November 16, 1970) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She directed the films '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', ''The Quiet'' and ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee''. She has also directed episodes of television pro ...

and starring Jennie Ventriss,

Jeanette Miller Jeanette Miller is an American character actress who has appeared in theatre, film, and television series, best known as Aunt Edie on the ABC comedy series '' The Middle'', which she played from 2009 until 2012, when her character was said to ...

, and

Eden Sher Eden Rebecca Sher (born December 26, 1991) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Sue Heck from the family sitcom series '' The Middle'' (2009–2018) and as Star Butterfly from the Disney Channel animated fantasy dramedy series ...

. It tells the story of an elderly lesbian couple traveling across the desert, who are on the verge of ending their unhappy relationship. It was the first film produced by production company

POWER UP POWER UP (the "Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up") is an American non-profit organization and film production company with the stated mission "to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainmen ...

and won three film festival awards.

Plot

An elderly woman, Fern (

), wakes up her girlfriend Irma ( Jennie Ventriss). As they get ready to go to a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

game, a young girl (

) rides a scooter down a desert road. Irma makes a lime

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...

dessert, which Fern is rude about. As Irma drives down the road on their way to the game, Fern berates her for driving too fast. They start arguing and their truck hits the young girl on the scooter. Fern gets out of the truck, announces that the girl is dead, and starts shouting at Irma, insisting that she get out and have a look. Irma locks the truck doors. Fern continues shouting and starts smashing the truck headlights, while Irma refuses to speak or open the doors. Fern threatens to end their 45-year relationship, and when she receives no answer, she takes her ring from her ring finger, throws it at the truck, and walks off down the road. After some time, Irma opens the truck windows and smiles to herself.

Distribution and awards

''Stuck'' premiered on December 9, 2001, and played at the 2002

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. It features on ''Girls on Film'', a DVD compilation of short films released by production company

. In 2002, ''Stuck'' won the Jury Prize at the

Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Philadelphia QFest was founded in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by TLA Entertainment Group in 1995. It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymon ...

and an Honorable Mention at the Sundance Film Festival. At the 16th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, it won the

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, ...

Prize for Best Short Film. Later that year the "wacky lesbian geriatric melodrama" won the Grand Prize at the PlanetOut.com Short Movie Awards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuck (2001 Film) 2001 films 2000s English-language films American LGBT-related short films Lesbian-related films Films directed by Jamie Babbit Films produced by Andrea Sperling 2001 LGBT-related films 2001 short films 2000s American films