High Strung
Encyclopedia
High Strung is an independent film
created by Film Brigade International. It was produced by Vladimir Horunzhy
and Sergei Zholobetsky. It stars Steve Oedekerk
as Thane Furrows, an uptight children's author who rarely leaves his house, eats only cereal, and is irritated by everything around him. The film also stars Thomas F. Wilson
, Fred Willard
, Denise Crosby
, and Jim Carrey
, and also contains a short cameo appearance
by a young Kirsten Dunst
. Despite the lack of a release on DVD, High Strung has developed and maintained a strong cult
fan base. This is Jim Carrey's 13th film role.
and the sensibility of keeping pet
s. A number of minor annoyances also perturb him throughout the day: a fly lands on his cereal at breakfast, which he inadvertently eats; an insurance salesman named Ray comes to the door, to which Furrows responds by feigning interest and, shortly after promising to take out a number of policies, slams the door in Ray's face with the words "I'd rather be dead"; an automated survey about carpet cleaning
calls him repeatedly; his boss' wife comes by to pick up a book he was writing, and he (eventually) tells her off.
Furrows has a number of strange philosophies: he wishes his children's books to be instructive for the good of society, such as "How to Start the Family Car" (in case "someone chokes on a chicken bone" and "there are no adults around"), and "Bye Bye Grandma" which he wants to help accustom children to death. He refuses to keep pets because he feels they would "turn on you" in a food shortage, choosing instead to keep a cardboard cutout of a dog named Pete.
After the fly incident, Furrows suffers from a number of scares. When closing his eyes, he repeatedly sees a menacing face. He receives numerous messages from phone and mail about "eight o'clock".
Furrows' only friend appears to be a man named Al, who comes by in the afternoon for a visit. They eat cereal and Al tries to dissuade Thane of his cynicism
. While Thane attacks the optimism
of people like Al, he seems comforted by Al's sympathy over the visit of Melanie, the boss' wife.
Later that night, Furrows loses an arm wrestling match to the noisy neighbour upstairs, thereby giving him the right to play metal as loud as he wants whenever he wants. After a day of "messing around", Furrows receives a knock at the door at the dreaded "eight o'clock" and is greeted by a limo driver. When he steps into the limo, the driver (Jim Carrey) turns around and reveals himself to be Death
. Death tells Furrows that he has met his quota of saying "I wish I were dead" and must die, and Furrows complains about the stupidity of the rule until Death, unable to scare Furrows into line, puts him back into his body. Furrows awakes with frightened Al standing over him, trying to wake him. The movie ends with the two going out to a restaurant, though Furrows' insistence that they serve him cereal suggesting the lessons of the past day were lost on him.
After the credits, a short epilogue
involves Death stopping the limo in a dark space and looking at the heavens. He claims that he just couldn't stand Thane and had to return him to life. He adds that he isn't ever coming back for Thane, implying that Thane may have just accidentally become immortal
.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
created by Film Brigade International. It was produced by Vladimir Horunzhy
Vladimir Horunzhy
Vladimir Anatolieyvych Horunzhy is a producer and composer.In the late 70's led the Pop-Symphony Orchestra of Radio and Television of Ukraine.Moved to the U.S...
and Sergei Zholobetsky. It stars Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
as Thane Furrows, an uptight children's author who rarely leaves his house, eats only cereal, and is irritated by everything around him. The film also stars Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
, Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
, Denise Crosby
Denise Crosby
Denise Michelle Crosby is an American actress best known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation...
, and Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, and also contains a short cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by a young Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
. Despite the lack of a release on DVD, High Strung has developed and maintained a strong cult
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
fan base. This is Jim Carrey's 13th film role.
Plot
The film centers around Thane Furrows, who spends the day messing around his apartment and complaining about a number of random subjects, among other things, flies, popsicles, junk mail, his boss' wife, his upstairs neighbor, smoking, salesmen, and philosophizes on a number of things such as the morality of eating humansCannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
and the sensibility of keeping pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
s. A number of minor annoyances also perturb him throughout the day: a fly lands on his cereal at breakfast, which he inadvertently eats; an insurance salesman named Ray comes to the door, to which Furrows responds by feigning interest and, shortly after promising to take out a number of policies, slams the door in Ray's face with the words "I'd rather be dead"; an automated survey about carpet cleaning
Carpet cleaning
Carpet cleaning, for beautification, and the removal of stains, dirt, grit, sand, and allergens can be achieved by several methods, both traditional and modern...
calls him repeatedly; his boss' wife comes by to pick up a book he was writing, and he (eventually) tells her off.
Furrows has a number of strange philosophies: he wishes his children's books to be instructive for the good of society, such as "How to Start the Family Car" (in case "someone chokes on a chicken bone" and "there are no adults around"), and "Bye Bye Grandma" which he wants to help accustom children to death. He refuses to keep pets because he feels they would "turn on you" in a food shortage, choosing instead to keep a cardboard cutout of a dog named Pete.
After the fly incident, Furrows suffers from a number of scares. When closing his eyes, he repeatedly sees a menacing face. He receives numerous messages from phone and mail about "eight o'clock".
Furrows' only friend appears to be a man named Al, who comes by in the afternoon for a visit. They eat cereal and Al tries to dissuade Thane of his cynicism
Cynicism
Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...
. While Thane attacks the optimism
Optimism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...
of people like Al, he seems comforted by Al's sympathy over the visit of Melanie, the boss' wife.
Later that night, Furrows loses an arm wrestling match to the noisy neighbour upstairs, thereby giving him the right to play metal as loud as he wants whenever he wants. After a day of "messing around", Furrows receives a knock at the door at the dreaded "eight o'clock" and is greeted by a limo driver. When he steps into the limo, the driver (Jim Carrey) turns around and reveals himself to be Death
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
. Death tells Furrows that he has met his quota of saying "I wish I were dead" and must die, and Furrows complains about the stupidity of the rule until Death, unable to scare Furrows into line, puts him back into his body. Furrows awakes with frightened Al standing over him, trying to wake him. The movie ends with the two going out to a restaurant, though Furrows' insistence that they serve him cereal suggesting the lessons of the past day were lost on him.
After the credits, a short epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
involves Death stopping the limo in a dark space and looking at the heavens. He claims that he just couldn't stand Thane and had to return him to life. He adds that he isn't ever coming back for Thane, implying that Thane may have just accidentally become immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
.