Dysfunctional Friends

Plot

The unexpected death of a quirky and wealthy friend has forced nine former friends to reunite at the funeral of their friend; years after graduating college and going their separate ways. After the funeral they learn from Ms. Stevens (Good) that they are all eligible for a big inheritance if they can just spend five days together at his former estate in which she will oversee. The stipulations of their friend's will is if anyone leaves before the five-day period, everyone sacrifices their portion of the estate. What first seems like a lighthearted reunion quickly turns for the worst as old wounds are reopened, and lingering grudges are resurrected. Many of the issues resurrected are created by Ebony's (Gomez-Preston) persistent eavesdropping. The unstable engagement between Lisa (Dash) and Jackson (Owens) is revealed as Jackson and Storm (Keibler) struggle to keep it a secret that they had a sexual relationship a few years ago when Jackson began to date Lisa. Storm didn't know they were in a relationship at the time and it increases the tension. Gary (Weaver) has become a porn director much to the disgust of all the women in the estate and is desperate to escape the porn industry. However, he is reluctant to admit it and when he approaches Trenyce (White) with screenplay for a movie whom is a struggling actress she assumes it's to do pornography which increases the tension in the household even more. An attempt to have a peaceful dinner with everyone fails as tempers flare and dark secrets are revealed creating new wounds between them all. A few of the friends begin feeling trapped in a mansion with people who know their darkest secrets grows increasingly unbearable and forces them to reconcile their ways. Some of which truly finding their way realizing one of their greatest mistakes was abandoning their friends.

Reception

Dysfunctional Friends is an award winning independent film produced by Datari Turner and written and directed by Corey Grant. The film premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW), as well as the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and was nominated for nearly every major award category (with Persia White winning best actress at ABFF). The film was released theatrically in two markets (LA/NYC) and has become a cult hit, grossing over a million dollars on VOD & DVD. Additionally, the cast of Dysfunctional Friends has a combined digital fan base of over 10 million Twitter followers.