Stripped, Bear

Stripped, Bear is a fictional drama about two brothers. Eddie, the prodigal son, returns to his boyhood home of El Dorado, Arkansas, after he gets word that his parents have passed. Waiting for him is his restless older brother Jules, who never made it any farther in life than his parents' front door. Eddie's new wife, Lonnie, an ex-stripper from Memphis, forces the brothers to confront the silent anger that has evolved over years of estrangement after having an affair with her husbands brother. Infidelities are discovered and the bond between family and a new love are stretched to their limits forcing Eddie to decide what is more important, blood or love. Telling both his brother and wife to leave, he forces himself into a period of self examination that lures his soul to become what he despises. He confronts both his brother and then his wife, finding no resolution in their remorse. Following a night of trials he is revisited by his brother the next morning seeking the one memento he wishes to keep to remember their parents, his father's hat. This symbol of the brothers parents forces the stifled flames of their relationship to the surface and the struggle of tough love is discovered. Things that couldn't be spoken are brought out and separation is the only healing potion. The drama that ensues is heart wrenching and tragic, and tests the limits and the very meaning of the word, family.