Chameleon
Slavakenowskiss, a quiet, slightly nervous gentleman, introduces himself to the
camera in the first of several interviews that break the fourth wall throughout
the picture. The founder and president
of BubblePro, Inc., Chameleon has pulled himself up by the bootstraps to become
a living emblem of the American Dream:
raised by Eastern-European giraffe-farming immigrants, he now owns his
own company that produces countless innovations in the world of bubble
wrap. Part of this success may be
accredited to his meticulousness (he mails rocks to himself in his companyÕs
packages and obsessively inspects the results), but, whatever the case,
certainly none of his rise can be attributed to his brother Boris, a
none-too-bright slob who has been handed the job of ÒChief Custodial TechnicianÓ
as well as a place on the BubblePro board through pity-motivated cronyism.
However,
when ChameleonÕs vice-president Wendell Lippy is introduced through his own separate
interview, it becomes apparent that all is not well either at BubblePro or in
ChameleonÕs life in general. Immensely
cynical and bitingly sarcastic, Lippy harbors a keen dislike of Chameleon
matched in magnitude only by ChameleonÕs obliviousness to this fact. BubblePro, it seems, is hemorrhaging business
due to ChameleonÕs gross incompetence in areas such as basic PR and (especially)
advertising.
The
absurd spectacle of a typical BubblePro board meeting illustrates exactly how
far the companyÕs dysfunction has extended: Chameleon weilds no authority over either the passive-aggressive
Wendell or his exuberantly loud and painfully socially inept brother. The unfortunately-named treasurer Fats
McGurble cannot seem to bring Chameleon to realize the direness of the companyÕs
situation. The unappreciated and
neglected miscellaneous board member Pakki Tarr sulks in the corner, while the
board secretary Larry Jimdon receives considerably more attention, despite the
fact that he never actually says a single word. Despite this mess, Wendell does succeed in passing through a
measure to ensure that the company will devote the necessary resources to
complete a commercial. The members
of the board express their various opinions about the plan (and the direction
of the company in general) in individual interviews. Chameleon worries about the growing gulf between him and his
brother; meanwhile Boris seems to be having an affair with ChameleonÕs wife
right under his nose.
At
the conclusion of an exhausting, fruitless meeting devoted to the brainstorming
of commercial ideas, Wendell chooses the most opportune moment possible (the
point at which every other board member has virtually collapsed) to unveil his
idea for the commercial, a condensed PR message that he feels would stimulate
awareness of BubbleProÕs community-friendly policies and therefore stimulate
interest in BubbleProÕs products.
Chameleon flatly rejects the idea despite having no adequate basis for
doing so, in a disastrous move that only heightens workplace conflict and sets
the stage for an eventual meltdown of epic proportions.
Seemingly
as an excuse not to use WendellÕs idea, Chameleon brings in commercial videographer
Loam Bixbie to act as director, producer and general creative mastermind of the
project. The plan immediately
begins to backfire as the borderline-deranged Bixbie takes a liking to Boris
Slavakenowskiss (and actually begins considering his commercial ideas). Chameleon, however, is slow to realize
exactly what is going on, leaving only Wendell to realize exactly how badly
things are amiss. Infinitely frustrated
by the situation and yet unable to assert himself in the office, he takes out
his frustrations in a particularly neurotic role-playing exercise that he
frequently resorts to.
Swallowing
his anger, Wendell attends an actor audition session for the commercial with
Chameleon and Loam, but infighting about the marginally-talented ÒtalentÓ that
tries out leads Chameleon to once again bash WendellÕs ideas without sufficient
reason. Wendell confronts him on
this issue in the parking lot in an argument that becomes first a scuffle and
then a full-on pummeling session, with Chameleon taking the hits. Disgraced and emasculated, Chameleon
returns home to find Loam having a creative meeting with Boris, the
now-official writer of the commercial, and begins to have second thoughts about
his decision to bring in a director.
Meanwhile,
LoamÕs friendship with Boris has caused Boris to reevaluate his position in his
family and career and develop a new self-image. Confidently commanding a garage-set alongside Loam (an event
which Wendell and Jimdon attend seemingly for pure, apathetic entertainment
value), Boris succeeds in appearing competent next to Loam.
After
a sleepless night for everyone (for the board, this is largely due to
nervousness, for Loam, it is because he must edit all night to make the next
dayÕs deadline), the moment of truth arrives as the commercial is finally
unveiled, changing forever the destinies of the characters É which are later
related after the climax in a series of one-year-later vignettes.
