"100% No Stress Day" is the second segment of the third episode (and the sixth story overall) of Close Enough.
Synopsis[]
The roommates work together to give Emily a stress-free day, but they are sidetracked by shady characters from Alex's past.[1]
Plot[]
Emily gets results back from her doctor regarding her constant movement that she may be under pressure. She recollects moments of stress (such as getting her lengthy student loan statement, accidentally burning clothes in the dryer, and Candice using Bridgette's vibrator as a play-toy), but she denies having any.
She goes back home to talk to the roommates about her appointment, just as they were beta-testing Josh's virtual reality game Ladder World, a game about climbing ladders and avoiding floating obstacles. Josh suggests she eat something to reduce stress, but they find out that all of their food is gone and their secret "earthquake ham" got stolen, making Emily stress out further. Emily finds her To-Do list, but Josh takes it and suggests that she should take a stress-free day while he finishes her to-do list. She suggests its a bad idea, but she puts her trust into it as he says he'll put 100% of his mind to the to-do list.
Alex and Josh finish all of the to-do list activities except from getting the earthquake ham, so they go to the supermarket to get it. They find out that California is under a ham shortage, with a scam company named "Wurst Bros" being the only business in town that sells (stolen) ham. They plan to get their ham that was stolen, until Alex notices that there are clowns looking for him. He explains to Josh that a week ago, the circus was in town, and he met some clowns who never backed down from a bet. He bets one to make a giraffe with his inflatable balloon penis, and he succeeds. Alex owes them three grand for placing the bet. They all run away from the store.
Bridgette takes Emily to the car to smoke weed to start her no stress day, and gets high. The two go around town in a drugged state, and Emily gets paranoid by what's going on around her. She then runs into her daughter's teacher during an experimental jazz concert. Candice's teacher offers Bridgette and Emily weed and wine as they settle down, but Emily refuses and gets under panic when weed is mentioned. She punches him under the pressure from the drugs. Emily explains about her stress to the teacher. She tells him she likes working but she has no idea what she wants to do and whether or not she can do a good job on it. He tells her that it won't feel like she can do a good job until she starts doing things for herself, and suggests she should find out what her interest is, taking multiple hobbies.
Alex, Josh and Candice get away from the store and head up to Wurst Bros where they witness the hot dog production line. The meat is made with dead material. They get caught investigating the factory by the burglars. Candice gets taken to a Michelin-rated daycare center, while Josh and Alex are to be put through a meat grinder to be turned into gourmet butt holes, until Josh gets themselves out by using his mind. Josh and Alex find and take several stolen hams and drive away from the factory until the burglars notice they're getting away too. They run into the clowns, and they both instigate. Josh then uses his brain again to call back on when Alex said the clowns would never walk away from a bet. Josh gets out of the car and calls a bet for their lives on the clowns and the ham burglars to compete in a game of Ladder World.
Emily heads back home and notices everyone playing Ladder World, and takes Alex's place. She continues to climb ladders until one of the clowns stop her, though Josh swipes the opponents out with a gigantic floating head. Emily wins the game, loses all of her stress, and the burglars and clowns leave the house. Bridgette comes in, still high, stating she started talking to "the hottest guy right now", who happens to be a clown. The clown offers to make a brontosaurus, which Candice wanted to see but everyone urges him not to do so.
Characters[]
- Emily Ramirez
- Josh Singleton
- Alex Dorpenberger
- Candice
- Bridgette Yoshida
- Wurst Bros. Employees (debut for all)
- Stripper Clowns (debut for all)
- Dr. Glandz (debut)
- Part Foods Deli Worker (debut)
- TV News Reporter (debut)
- Timothy Campbell
- Hot Yoga Instructor (debut)
Trivia[]
- This episode was released early on June 15, 2020, as part of the Annecy Film Festival.
- The game the characters play in the episode, Ladder World, is available to play as an HTML5 game here.
Pop Culture References[]
- The song "Stay Fly" by Three Six Mafia plays during the montage of Emily and Bridgette getting high.
- During this montage, Emily and Bridgette briefly stand in front of a pet store called Pet Shop Boyz, whose name strongly resembles that of the English synth-pop duo, Pet Shop Boys.
- The shot of the clown coming out of the sewer grid is likely a reference to Pennywise from the 1986 Stephen King novel, It.
- When Candice is in the daycare center, she is seen playing with a keyboard that strongly resembles The Power from J.G. Quintel's previous work, Regular Show.
- During the Ladder World scenes, the head of Kevin Costner from the 1995 film Waterworld appears as an obstacle.
- During both of Josh's brainstorms, his brain makes an Apple Mac startup sound when it becomes energized.
- During Josh's first brainstorm, an animated version of Neil deGrasse Tyson can be seen in his thoughts.
- Tyson also appeared in an episode of Regular Show, wherein he provided his own voice.