BLVD

A socially awkward, depressed man fakes a heroin addiction to get out of his office job and into a recovery program.

Frustrated with his life as office worker, a man decides to fake a heroin addiction to con his employer and insurance company into paying him to go to recovery.

Dean is lonely, depressed, and trudging aimlessly through his life as an office worker, exasperated and stressed-out he decides he cannot struggle on and decides to kill himself.  At the critical moment, he realizes he lacks the courage to commit suicide and stumbles upon an idea that will change his life and take him on an unexpected journey through the world of addiction, recovery, and the search for the meaning of life.  He fakes a heroin addiction and checks himself into a residential recovery clinic; he admits the "truth" of his “hidden” addiction to his family and friends and begins a year of "recovery.” 

Dean is lonely, depressed, and trudging aimlessly through his life as an office worker, exasperated and stressed-out he decides he cannot struggle on and decides to kill himself.  At the critical moment, he realizes he lacks the courage to commit suicide and stumbles upon an idea that will change his life and take him on an unexpected journey through the world of addiction, recovery, and the search for the meaning of life.  He fakes a heroin addiction and checks himself into a residential recovery clinic; he admits the "truth" of his “hidden” addiction to his family and friends and begins a year of "recovery.” Relating to other addicts at their most vulnerable, he goes through therapy, sober living, treatment and reintegration into society all the while hiding his true self and motives from everyone around him

Logline: Finding cubicle life in corporate America meaningless and empty, Dean wants to die, but lacking the courage to kill himself he decides to fake a heroin addiction hoping to pull off an insurance scam that will keep his paychecks rolling in while he begins his quest for a purpose in life.

In the blackness of Dean’s dreaming thoughts, the words “Everything is Meaningless” swirl in wispy circles like cirrus clouds, they form a whitening whirlpool and POP! Dean wakes up with a jump and walks directly to the kitchen, pours and swallows a whiskey shot and pours another; the clock reads 7:33 AM.  He blinks and in fast forward, he visualizes last night: She smiled and asked: “Hey, so when are we all going to have that ‘picnic on ice’ you were talking about?” WIth a racing mind and suddenly sweaty palms Dean looks to his friend for help, he has no idea who she is, “Yeah, bro I thought you were setting that up?” His friend said with a knowing look.  Dean met her 2 times before but introduces himself again. How many friendships can you make in a drunken blackout? In fast forward, Dean wastes his days away, drink, TV, drink, video games, drink, bathroom, drink, vomit, drink, sleep, drink, bathroom, drink, TV, drink.

Today he dies. Tomorrow is nothing.  Dean is lying on his stomach on a hotel bed, sideways across the bed with his head hanging off the edge in despair, staring at the floor in that gap between the bed and wall. He raises his head and bares his neck, ready to slit his throat he raises the knife and his hand trembles, he cannot finish it.  Vaguely hoping for any type of help he googles and calls a rehab center, the voice on the other end of the phone asks “What’s your drug of choice?” and the lie is out of his mouth before he knows it, he hears himself say, “Heroin.”