Ex Mas Eve

Tagline

What goes around, comes around.

The Opening

The movie begins a few days before Christmas as Rob prepares to go to a Sci-Fi convention while Chris prepares to greet his girlfriend on their anniversary. Meanwhile, Alex is attempting to contact his girlfriend who refuses to take his calls. As Rob attends the convention, Chris visits his girlfriend (Erica’s) apartment only to discover she isn’t there. Meanwhile, Alex visits his girlfriend (Kristin) who refuses to open the door.

The Dumping

Chris is disturbed that he can’t get in touch with Erica and begins to believe that she wants nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, Rob returns from the Sci-Fi convention, and proceeds to go on a date with his girlfriend (Sarah). While on their date at a Mexican restaurant, Rob gives Sarah a bracelet, and she promptly dumps him, makes him pay for the meal, and then take her home where another man is waiting for her.

The Revenge

At breakfast, a frustrated Alex comforts a heartbroken Rob and a confused and saddened Chris, and Alex comes up with a plan to get back at the girls.

The Plan Events begin to conspire as Rob is sent to follow Kristin, while Alex finds out more about the mysterious man in Sarah’s life. Chris meanwhile is still struggling with the idea that he and Erica are through. After Alex finds out the name of Sarah’s new beau, he goes to the Quick Print. Rob normally works there, but isn’t present because he’s running an errand for Alex, mainly following Kristin into church and finding out what book she will be reading to her class of children. Meanwhile, at the Quick Print, Jamie, Rob’s co-worker, approaches Alex and asks about Rob. Her interest in Rob is obvious, but Alex doesn’t seem to notice or care. Through an internet search, Alex discovers that Sarah’s new boyfriend is a rich jet setter named Kyle.

The Deception

Alex begins leaving fake jewelry for Sarah, signed as a “Secret Admirer”, while Chris finally comes to terms with the fact that Erica wants nothing to do with him. Rob meanwhile keeps running into Father Henry while running errands as a part of Alex’s scheme, and with each encounter, Rob seems to become more and more distraught. Chris meanwhile, at Alex’s suggestion, makes a pair of fake plane tickets to Iceland, and sends them to Erica, making her believe they are going on a romantic vacation. Rob switches the book Kristin was supposed to read with one that has the inside defaced, and when Kristin sees it, she concludes Alex is behind it. Unfortunately, during the switch, Rob bumps into Father Henry, and Father Henry mentions Rob’s name to Kristin. Kristin then proceeds to track Rob down, though Rob gets Chris to meet her in his place. Jamie meanwhile continues expressing interest in Rob, first by giving Rob a Christmas gift, and later by checking out several DVDs of the Sci-Fi series Rob is obsessed with. Finally, Alex encounters and begins seducing Sarah, pretending to be (in an over-the-top accent) a Russian jet-setter. Sarah falls for him, only for Alex to leave her heartbroken, dressed in her best evening gown and ready to see the world.

The Resolution

Rob, discovering that the hero of his favorite sci-fi series is supposed to be in town for a special conference, has to try and talk Kristin into helping him, while not revealing his identity. While they’re talking, Father Henry walks by and acknowledges Rob, which prompts Kristin’s wrath. Rob admits he was wrong, but stands up for Alex, and defends his friend. In a moment of clarity, Rob realizes he should confess everything to Father Henry, after which Rob returns home. While talking to Chris, Rob picks up a photo of Chris and Erica’s anniversary, reading off the date, which as it turns out, was a day after what Chris thought it was. Chris quickly rushes to meet Erica at the airport while Rob receives a phone call saying that he is invited to the conference. Meanwhile, Alex returns from his final date with Sarah, and has a message on his machine from Kristin. Alex goes to Kristin’s apartment, while Chris just misses Erica, who finds out she has been duped. Chris follows Erica back to her apartment where they argue and finally make up. Alex and Kristin also make up, and Kristin forgives Alex for his prank.

Rob goes to the conference only to discover that he was a day late, and returns home to decorate the Christmas tree alone. In one of the movie's most powerful scenes, Rob opens Jamie’s gift to discover that it is a rare autograph of Rob’s hero, something that he had never been able to obtain. Rob dashes off to meet Jamie as she’s getting off work and the two ride off as the movie shows Alex and Kristin cuddling on the couch and Chris and Erica visiting the National Christmas Tree.

Vsevolod Horodyskyj originally based the script on personal experience from a past break-up, and the script was originally centered on the two brothers, Rob and Chris. However, as it developed, the character of Alex grew and the story began to be about all three main characters.

The project was initially conceived to be Horodyskyj’s Masters Thesis project as a student at American University, but grew to become a feature film. With a filming budget of roughly $25,000 and an additional $10,000 for post-production and promotion, the film relied primarily on gifts, donations, and volunteers.

Cast

Trivia

The series that Rob is obsessed with, Space Cadets, was entirely fictional. All of the merchandise, props, and the set dressings featured in the Sci-Fi convention scene were created for the movie by Vsevolod Horodyskyj. Two short bits of Space Cadets, one a clip from an episode, and another containing the CGI heavy opening intro were created for the movie but were subsequently deleted. They can be found on the deleted scenes.

The book Alex is reading in bed is “The Unofficial MacGyver How-to Handbook” which was co-written by Bret Terrill who plays Alex.

Though several products were created by the film's Production Design team, including "Galaxy Splash Soda" and the "Space Cadets" merchandise, the Bible Bar is an actual product.