Stiff Cuffs

In a laundromat, 45 minutes after the New Year, sits Haynes Kittridge, a woman with a master list of resolutions and a fetish for Shakespeare. Enter Billy, an impulsive, roguishly handsome man who hopes to rendezvous at the laundromat and run off with his best friend’s wife. At first he is anxious to get rid of Haynes. But somehow, we know it is only a question of time before they, in the tradition of all couples who hate each other on sight, fall in love. Or will Billy’s dream woman show up and run off with him before the almost inevitable happens? What makes the contest so lively is the caliber of verbal boxers in this particular match. Haynes is forthright and quick, but also a bit of a prig and a fussbudget. Billy is street smart and romantic, but also childish and hypersensitive. Towards the end of their sparring, we are treated to a of bizarre referee of sorts in the character of a transvestite. And by the final fade to black, both Billy and Haynes have changed. One act has loosened up and the other has softened.