Genre

Synopsis

LIZA ANONYMOUS follows Liza, a lonely millennial who craves belonging and is addicted to support groups. Maybe it's the community they provide, or the chance to hide behind the characters she creates; whatever it is, it is clear that Liza is running away from some heavy sh*t. Outside of her groups, she’s an Uber driver desperate and over-eager to connect with everyone.

Liza lands a coveted spot as a patient at the “Disneyland of Rehab,” Harmony House. She curates a Southern Belle persona with a dependency on alcohol, and on the eve of rehab, she gets wasted and does drugs; that’s how committed she is to “the bit.”

Liza enters Harmony House thirsty for the lifelong friendships the brochure teased. However, her fellow patients are a sad, private group of misfits that prefer the company of themselves rather than each other. Liza enlists Denny, Harmony House’s measured and wise resident therapist, for help. Trying a new approach, Liza organically starts to bring the group together.

Liza turns rehab into summer camp with food fights, midnight swims, and campfire singalongs. And little by little, our patients thaw out and friendships form which helps them reach breakthroughs in group therapy. While Denny is impressed with the tight-knit group, he’s equally suspicious of Liza’s gold star student status.

Her act unravels when her childhood bully, Milton, unexpectedly checks into rehab. He's quick to poke holes in Liza's fictional past, creating confusion with her friends and trouble for Liza. When Milton discovers Liza’s journal full of character details, it’s over for her. He puts her on blast in front of everyone, devastating Liza as she watches the friendships she formed turn to dust. Liza is forced to leave Harmony House with her ugly truth out in the open - everything that came out of her mouth was a lie. Liza is a lie.

Liza returns to her sad little life, hitting rock bottom in a pit of shame and loneliness. Denny pays a visit and offers to sponsor Liza, the real Liza. While she does not suffer from any of the addictions discussed in the myriad of groups she attended–she IS, in fact, an addict. With the help of Denny, Liza finally confronts her mom’s recent death. Liza plunges into a vortex of grief and releases her shame and makes way for a fresh start, one she now truly believes she deserves.

Now that Liza is healing and sober, she channels her talent for character work into improv. Liza invites her rehab crew to her first show but readies herself for the possibility that they won't show up. At the end of the show she searches the audience, and recognizes a haze of familiar faces: her rehab group, Denny, and even Milton cheers her on. In Liza’s journey to overcoming loneliness, she finds that genuinely being with herself is the most challenging yet radical thing she’ll ever do.