FINISH WITH A SMILE: When a woman with ALS decides to end life on her terms via assisted suicide, she puts her BFF’s boundaries, sorrow, and humor to the test.
"FINISH WITH A SMILE"
by Charise M. Studesville
SYDNEY and her best friend since childhood, CORY, spend their final day in Los Angeles, obtaining end-of-life meds for Sydney’s bid to beat ALS to the punch. They share an easy banter and humor, including Sydney moving herself to the driver’s seat while Cory gets the meds. Cory playfully informs Syd that she won’t be driven by someone with lost muscle control. Sydney threatens to call the “ALS Support Club of America” to have her canceled.
That night they sit together oceanside, sharing martinis, cold pizza, and a joint, reminiscing about the time Sydney made out with Keanu at the Viper Room. She blames his expert kissing skills as the reason she stopped dating men after that. Sydney shares one final ask: she desperately wants to have one last orgasm but hasn’t been able to hold the vibrator on her own. Cory first says no, but helps her out, leaving her own body a bit in the process.
As they arrive at the airport the next day, Sydney’s legs fail. On the airplane, Cory desperately searches the web for a last ditch cure she knows isn’t there. She decides to watch a movie and is assaulted by the first suggested title: BEACHES. She flips the bird to the screen.
Back in Sydney’s family lake house in their hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, they make her death Jell-O and hold a farewell party Sydney’s last night. Cory breaks the No Tears rule at night’s end when she pleads with Syd to change her mind. But Sydney remains steadfast.
Syd retires to her room to watch her last sunrise after taking her lethal dose of barbiturate-laced Jell-O. The last thing she hears is a touching surprise that brings a smile to her face. Cory stands in the backyard with a boombox playing “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel -- a nod to their favorite movie -- so Sydney knows she’s with her to the literal end. As Sydney gently falls into her last breath, the sprinklers come on and Cory wonders aloud if Syd is already screwing with her from above.
Charise M. Studesville is a bestselling writer, filmmaker, and mixed media artist who uses truth to illuminate darkness within the human experience. She has a life-long obsession with secrets, and loves the discovery process of untangling them and finding the universal truths hidden within. She believes it’s how we discover the common bonds that build cosmic connection.
Charise has recently been delving into stories of women that center what she calls the midlife second puberty, where we have the opportunity to apply the life lessons and discoveries that are the rewards for our growing pains. All of this is integral to her current art, including such projects as: REASONS TO LIVE, a “mixed media memoir” and film project that revisit her adventures through the zeitgeist of the cultural and social scene of 1980s New York City; THE WAVES, a feature film about what happens to the friends left behind when ALS moves their mutual bestie to choose an assisted suicide exit and leaves one last wish for them to honor; and THE COMPOUND, a film that illuminates a non-traditional love story amongst unlikely friends who discover their happily-ever-after in their self-made homestead community.
Charise has films, tv, and book projects in the hopper, and is always excited to take on new projects that elevate her storytelling journey. As a fierce advocate for women, she is a proud member of WIF, Film Fatales, Women In Media, and Alliance of Women Directors, and is the founder of Hollywood Chick Mafia, a community of creative rebel chicks supporting each others' badassery.
