Life in Pieces – Late, Smuggling, Dreambaby Voucher

By: Julie Mante

Story One: Airport Rush

Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) tells his family that it is time to go. They are traveling to Mexico for Matt’s (Thomas Sadoski) and Colleen’s (Angelique Cabral) wedding. In the past, the Hughes family has a problem with tardiness so Tim is determined to make sure everyone is on time today. Tyler (Niall Cunningham) and Clementine (Hunter King) decide that they are minimalists so they will not bring any luggage. Anything they need, they will buy in Mexico to help stimulate the local economy. When Sophia (Giselle Eisenberg) looks at their boarding passes, she unknowingly reveals the truth. Their flight is not leaving for another four hours. Heather (Betsy Brandt) is furious, but Tim told her he said that so they would be on time. Heather goes to take a shower. Tim cancels their ride. Sam (Holly J. Barrett) notices that Sophia’s bag is leaking because she packed a two-liter bottle of soda. Heather tells Tim that she cannot get the shower to shut off. Tim cancels their ride again. Tim is unable to shut off the water so he decides to turn off the whole water in the house. Sam is repacking because she got her period and she is in a horrible mood. After Tim turns off the water, Tyler and Clementine decide to bring luggage after all. The family are surprised that Professor Wilde (Cary Elwes) is their driver. Tim tells Wilde to pull over when the professor drives on the wrong side of the road and does not want to go on the highway because he is afraid. When the family gets out of the van, they realize that they left all their luggage there. Tim tries to run after the van while his family looks on.

Story Two: All Dogs Go to Mexico

At the airport, Joan (Dianne Wiest) and John (James Brolin) are told they cannot bring their dog Tank on the flight because they forgot to fill the necessary paperwork. Joan tells the woman at the desk that the Tank is the ring bearer for their son’s wedding. Also, Tank is the only reason that John is even going to the wedding. Joan remembers that John has taught Tank to pay dead. If they pretend they are veterinarians and they are traveling with a dead dog, they may be able to sneak Tank on the flight. When they check in, the TSA agent ask them what is in the cooler. The couple is nervous, but John tells him that they are bringing the dead dog because of an organ transplant. A movie dog in Mexico will receive a liver. The agent buys their story. When the cooler goes through screening, the agents can see that Tank swallowed Matt’s ring. Surprised, John says, “Holy crap,” which is Tank’s signal to not play dead anymore. John is on the phone with the vet and Joan gets a call from Matt. Joan tells him quickly that Tank swallowed his ring and hangs up. John tells her that Tank has to have emergency surgery.

Story Three: Fly Baby

Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Greg (Colin Hanks) are at the airport and Greg is not happy. He feels embarrassed that they are the couple traveling with a baby at the airport. Jen does not understand why he is so upset and wants him to calm down. When they are in their seats, another couple Jordana (Alison Rood) and Elijah (Daryl Wein) start passing out gift bags to all the passengers near them. They say they are handing out gifts in advance as an apology for their baby, Gavin, being fussy during the flight. Jen and Greg are convinced that these gifts will do nothing to stop their fellow passengers from being annoyed. One of the passengers, Clarinda (Bianca Haase) is excited about the gifts and is ready to give Gavin a pass while not being so kind to Jen’s and Greg’s daughter Lark (Addison Carroll). When Greg tries to calm down Lark near the back of the plane, flight attendant Clancy (Todd Sherry) is annoyed until he mistakes Lark for Baby Gavin. Greg decides not to correct him and asks if he can be introduced to the pilot. When Greg returns to his seat, Jen asks him if he met the pilot. Greg admits that the pilot was in the bathroom so he did not get the chance. Clancy exposes Greg’s lie in front of everyone when he hands Greg a blanket for Lark. Everyone is disgusted that Greg pretended his child was Baby Gavin. Clancy notices that two gentlemen are not seated and tells them to return to their seats. They tell him that they are an interracial couple and their seatmate does not want to sit with them because he does not approve of their marriage. Jen decides that it is the perfect opportunity to move. Their new seatmate’s name is Max (Mark Beltzman) and Greg decides to give Max the gift Baby Gavin’s parents had given him. Jen tells Greg to stop worrying about what other people think. As Max is enjoying his cookies, he realizes there is coconut in them. Because he has an allergic reaction to the cookies, the plane has to have an emergency landing so he can receive medical treatment. Jen calls Colleen to tell her that she, Greg and Lark will be late to their wedding.

Story Four: Not-Rushin’ Roulette

Matt and Colleen are told that their flight is overbooked. The woman at the desk asks them if they would be willing to take a later flight and accept two one hundred dollar vouchers. At first, the couple decline but when they hear the dollar amount they realize that they do not have to be in Cabo right away so they decide to take the later flight. They are excited that they can use this money for a good honeymoon. When they hear that their new flight is also overbooked, they meet Dean (Brian Baumgartner). He encourages them not to seem too eager and wait before getting the vouchers. As they wait, the man at the desk offers to increase the price of the voucher to four hundred dollars each. Dean, Matt and Colleen race to the desk to get their vouchers. When Colleen sees Greg and Jen, she tries to get their attention, but Matt tells her to stop. He says it is better to avoid being connected with a couple that has a baby because the crowd could turn on them and they would be collateral damage. Their third flight is also overbooked so they see another opportunity to get another voucher. As the trio wait at the airport, the flight attendant hands them hotel vouchers. They are all confused, but she tells them that their flight has been canceled. Colleen and Matt panic as they realize that they will miss their own wedding.