Have a Nice Day

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Trey Daub, Ethan Lien

Abstract or Description

Have a Nice Day is a short narrative film that humorously chronicles the tedium of the day in the life of a liquor store clerk. However, on this particular day, the world will likely end. Everyone has felt at one point or another in the last two years a sense of looming dread living in a world dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Have a Nice Day, we encourage our audience to reflect upon their experiences facing crisis, take a much-needed moment to laugh at the absurdity of it all, and examine their own set of priorities in their professional lives. To achieve this, our film takes a microscopic approach to a macroscopic issue. An unprecedented asteroid is hurtling toward Earth with an 80% likelihood to make impact, but instead of portraying the heroic, last-ditch effort undoubtedly being made by NASA, we focus on the mom-and-pop liquor store that cannot afford to close on the off chance the asteroid misses. The comedy of the film lies in the absurd notion that one would continue working through the apocalypse, but the drama of the film lies in the direct reflection of the millions who laced up their boots every day and did work through the height of the pandemic. Through this juxtaposition, we ask: at the end of the day, what is it that really matters?