Squeeeeeze

Squeeeeeze is a family dramedy feature film inspired by a true story. It has the heart and humor of Coda, and the irresistible charm of a sports underdog movie like Rudy. NOAH LEVY, 17, an autistic teenager armed with movie quotes and game show trivia, sits in the car, frozen, dreading the first day of his senior year and the routine bullying that goes with being a “special needs” kid. JAY, mid 40’s, his overly eager, anxiety-ridden, actor-father (think Mark Ruffalo) a contradiction of phobias and determination, drives Noah to school as we quickly spin through memories of the obstacles they had to overcome to get to this moment. Noah begins his senior year, cheered on by Jay and DOTTIE WATSON, late 50’s, his special needs homeroom teacher (imagine a Kristen Wiig or Melissa McCarthy type) sincere, funny and puts a positive spin on everything. Noah now attends classes with the “regular” kids who find new ways to tease and isolate him. When the tough but compassionate wrestling coach, COACH HIGGINS, 40’s, (picture a Mahershala Ali type) a pull yourself up by the bootstraps with no room for bullying coach, sees Noah struggle in PE class. He invites Noah onto the wrestling team, a no-cut sport, despite Jay’s insistence that autistic kids don’t want to be touched, much less wrestle. After the team employs every bullying tactic they can come up with to get Noah to quit, the Coach makes Noah’s biggest nemesis, RANDY, 17, (Kit Connor type) star of the wrestling team, responsible for Noah’s success or risk losing his own spot on the team. The animosity continues until Randy, disarmed by Noah’s raw honesty and Noah, encouraged by Randy’s commitment to success, develop an unlikely friendship that affects both the team and Noah’s group of quirky loveable “special needs” friends. We watch Noah and Randy struggle with Noah’s aversion to touch, through practices and matches, and how Noah’s literal perspective on the world makes it almost impossible for him to bring his two worlds, the special needs kids and his new “Normal” friends, together. When these two worlds finally come together, Jay puts up a road block when he misjudges Randy’s intentions. But SHIRLEY, 18, the wise-cracking, sex-mad student with cerebral palsy, won’t have it. She creates an intervention that brings the team and the “special needs” kids together to confront and wake Jay up to the potential of his son. It works. In the last wrestling match, we watch the school explode when Noah executes a successful full contact squeeeeeze. He doesn’t win the match, he wins the moment. The last scene of the movie, high school graduation, Noah gets his diploma and his classmates erupt in a rousing standing ovation.