Out of the Box (2013)

• 75%
• 2013
• J.A. Steel

Brittany Porter is just your average everyday university doctoral student trying to make her way in the world, trying to belong and find meaning to life. Her acute Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is almost crippling as she tries to seek order out of her chaotic home life. Her younger brother Bodie, an aspiring undergraduate filmmaker, is gay. Tiffany, the youngest of the bunch, is happy go lucky and just wants to be a cheerleader and love everyone. The Matriarch of the clan is Lily, a transwoman trying to raise her family the best way she knows how. Hilarity ensues as social issues such as religion, sexuality, and politics are discussed. Brittany's views are always exactly opposite of Bodie's. Brittany is ultra conservative. Bodie is extremely liberal and Tiffany is in the middle. Lilly is often forced to referee, almost always quoting some philosophical anecdote. Set against the backdrop of the Mid West "Bible Belt", "Out of the Box" tackles tough social issues through interaction at the Porter family's bakery/coffee shop. There, Lilly's family cupcake recipe draws all members of the community together. As Tiffany puts it, "Nothing brings people together more than food". The Audience through humor learns, much like Brittany's character, there is "perfection in the imperfect".