Stuck (2017)

Stuck (2017) is Michael Berry's second feature film. The film's setting is a New York City subway car, the most perfect melting pot of all cultures and walks of life. This is brilliantly shown through the characters present.

There's a homeless man Lloyd, (Giancarlo Esposito) who lives on the subway and is viewed as an untouchable by the other passengers. Eve, (Ashanti) an African American woman, is struggling with unplanned pregnancy and finding a reason to be positive and hopeful. Also in the subway car is Alicia, (Arden Cho) a dancer whose past experiences and trauma have left her distrusting and fearful towards men, and her "stalker", Caleb (Gerard Canonico), an aspiring comic book artist. There is construction worker Ramon (Omar Chaparro) who works multiple jobs to pay for his daughter's dance lessons, and finally, a conservative old white woman, Sue (Amy Magida).
The film deals with the perceptions that each character has of the others, and how different the reality is. Each character's musical numbers take the audience outside the train and into their lives, offering brief but powerful insight into the characters minds. Lloyd, who Sue sees as just another creepy homeless person in NYC, is actually quite fond of Shakespeare and enjoys intelligent discussion.
Their shared feeling of a lack of a place in the world brings them closer than either of them thought possible.

Caleb, who Alicia sees as a threatening stalker who only wants her for her body, thinks that she is unbelievably beautiful and has even designed a comic book character based on her strength. Through his musical number, Caleb angrily calls Alicia out for the sense of entitlement he perceives she has, which is why she does not give him the time of day and acts like men must ask permission to look at her. Alicia reveals that she was sexually assaulted and now feels that men see her as only an object for their pleasure. She does not think she is "too good" for anyone, she is too afraid of being hurt to risk making another connection with a male. Through her musical number, she invites all males to look at her, as that is all they want to do anyway.

Caleb and Alicia begin to foster a connection which, by the end of the film, leads to Alicia giving Caleb her phone number, much to his joy and surprise. The film beautifully shatters each and every character's preconceived notions of one another, replacing them with a deep understanding of each character's daily challenges they must overcome.