Get You Better (2024) Short Film Review
Danica Jensen‘s short feature Get You Better begins with a funny and almost whimsical premise. One that checks the reason for which people will find themselves drawn to this short film: What if a rehabilitation center refused to admit someone because they aren’t drunk enough? And what if the only solution is getting them drunk so that the center finally sees the evidence to treat them? Jensen’s film answers those questions with a clever (and resolved) character arc that travels in less than twenty minutes from comedy to drama. We will find ourselves laughing in the beginning with the presence of an “obnoxious” girlfriend who’s desperate enough to force her boyfriend to have a drink so that he gets help. However, as we witness her journey, we come to understand that the desperate measures are almost justified. This is truly the last straw.
Devin is desperate enough to take her boyfriend to a rehab center. While filling out the application, she puts an “ex” before “girlfriend,” and this is how we learn she isn’t exactly part of the relationship. Wesley stands outside and says his last drink was one month ago, and the lady in charge of admissions says he can’t go in. Devin says he’s lying and that he just can’t remember that he had a drink last night. That’s when she has an idea: what if she can get him drunk enough for them to accept him?
She decides to go to a bar and convince him to drink. She’s still the “irritating” girlfriend because naturally, we think, “why is she forcing an alcoholic to have a drink if that’s the worst you can do for an alcoholic, even if it’s for a good intention?”. And then, the film flows into a realistic depiction of her ordeal. The real reason why she hesitates to call herself an ex-girlfriend rather than the girlfriend. Without the need to confirm this, we understand that this has been taking place for years, and Devin has tried it all. Perhaps Wesley did as well, but the image of the characters abruptly changes. No longer is she the bothersome woman but the victim of something more universal.
Get You Better is a heartwrenching short film that navigates through the hellscape of alcoholism and mental issues. Its almost comedy-like premise is quickly forgotten because Jensen does a great job at allowing the viewers to get a glimpse of the past and intimate setting that brought Devin and Wesley to this familiar place that reeks of stale beer, regrets, and broken glass. What happens in the middle is good enough to understand Wesley, but it was Devin with whom I found a connection. Her reaction to Wesley’s proposal of marriage symbolizes her nightmare, one that she’s been forced to go through again and again. What keeps her there? Is it love? Or is it the need to win in the tribulation of being emotionally attached to her relationship?
Pay no mind to the short film’s initial scene, as it is not the kind of film that the soundtrack tells you it is. It’s a much more contemplative and relevant story that will surely make you think of your own role in social circles where you have been driven to desperate measures. It won’t teach you how to solve your issues, but it will help you see that you’re not alone in the care of those loved ones who don’t believe they need help.
