Stuck Home Syndrome is a 2018 Irish comedy short film, produced by No WiFi.
Young Dave (Roy O'Connor) bumps into two of his friends one afternoon - who have been drinking since yesterday - and is persuaded to join them, despite his parents' wishes. Gilligan Cut to him being dragged home by a policeman for being drunk and disorderly (and apparently relieving himself on some poor old lady's rose bushes). Naturally he's grounded.
After a few days at home, cabin fever sets in. Dave becomes quite helpful - doing the washing up, hoovering, ironing - but it soon becomes too much. He won't leave the house at all, thoroughly driving his parents up the wall.
The full film can be seen here
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Tropes:
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: In this case it's resisting arrest and urinating in some poor woman's garden.
- Book Ends: The film begins and ends with Dave having drinks with his friends.
- Boredom Montage: Of the first few days of Dave's punishment.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: What Dave becomes after a few days at home.
- Comically Missing the Point: Lampshaded by Dave's mother when his father gets Sidetracked by the Analogy.
- Curse Cut Short: After Dave foils the newspaper plan, it cuts off just as his father says "son of a bitch".
- Department of Redundancy Department: "You're grounded indefinitely! For definite!"
- Dumbass Teenage Son: Drunk in public? Casual vandalism? Trolling the police? You bet Dave qualifies!
- Eye Take:
- Dave's father after the "Monopoly night with the parents" scene.
- He does the same after Dave calls "I love you" creepily as he leaves for work.
- Fade to White: The film ends this way just as Dave is reunited with his friends.
- Gone Horribly Right: Ground your son for too much drinking? He becomes obsessed with spending time with you and won't leave the house.
- Grounded Forever: Dave's punishment for his drunken antics. It lasts sixteen days.
- Kubrick Stare: Dave and his father both sport these at different times.
- Limited Wardrobe: Dave's two friends are still wearing the same clothes sixteen days later. One wonders if they even washed in the interim.
- No Name Given: Dave is the only named character. Everyone else is 'Dave's mother', 'Dave's father' etc.
- Only Sane Man: Dave's mother notes that she's the only normal person in the household.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: According to Dave's father, his son telling them he loves them is "feckin' weird!"
- Rule of Three: Three attempts to get Dave to go outside - giving him back his phone, asking him to get the newspaper, and finally the cans on the string.
- Sanity Slippage: Over the course of his grounding, Dave goes from rebellious teenager to clingy Cloud Cuckoo Lander.
- Shout-Out:
- Dave bounces a ball off the walls of his room in boredom - just like Steve Mc Queen in The Great Escape.
- His English friend is wearing a Nikki Bella hat.
- Sidetracked by the Analogy: When attempting to lecture Dave, his father goes off on a tangent about football.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: Dave's father resorts to leaving a trail of beer cans to get Dave to go outside.
- Unexplained Accent: One of Dave's friends is an English chav, with no explanation of what he's doing in an Irish suburb.
- Vague Age: Dave is clearly at least eighteen (as the policeman doesn't bust him for underage drinking) ranging to early twenties. His actor Roy O'Connor was twenty when he filmed his scenes.
- Visual Pun: Dave squashes a fly with a book. Which book? Lord of the Flies.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Dave can't even remember being grounded when he wakes up after his drinking session.
- Women Are Wiser: Dave's mother is the only sane person in the house.
