A reclusive high-school senior with OCD cautiously befriends an offbeat peer inspired by The Dude from The Big Lebowski whose friendship helps her confront her guilt over her childhood BFF's shooting death and rejoin the world.
Danielle Levine is deeply traumatized by witnessing her BFF Emily's shooting death as an eighth grader. Four years later, she's a bright loner with a quirky sense of humor navigating OCD in her senior year at a high school for neurodivergent teens. After a public, profanity-laced outburst, she's forced to attend an off-campus social skills class. There she meets and slowly befriends Daniel, a rebel who models himself after The Big Lebowski's Dude. He stands by her as she navigates family dynamics, body image issues, high school's merciless social scene, an unrequited crush, and memories of Emily surfacing. She gradually learns "abidance," and Daniel comes to trust her enough to come out to her as gay. But her long-suppressed guilt over having failed to save Emily emerges when Daniel inadvertently triggers her memories of the shooting, causing a panicky breakdown that forces her to finally confront her guilt, begin to forgive herself, grieve, and get on with her life just in time for graduation.—Seth Michael Donsky
Danielle Levine and Emily Jenkins forge an inseparable childhood friendship in Costa Mesa, California. Emily memorializes Danielle's 13th birthday with a snow globe representing their friendship. They vow to remain friends forever, but soon after, Danielle witnesses and survives Emily's shooting death.Four years later struggles with OCD, anxiety, and her loving but overprotective adoptive parents. She is starting her senior year at a private San Fernando Valley high school for neurodiverse students. Popular girl, Heather delights in tormenting Danielle about her hopeless crush on unattainable, already attached hottie Jacob. After suffering a panic attack and a profanity-laced outburst in front of her entire class, the school psychologist Marv requires Danielle to attend a social skills workshop to graduate. There she meets the irreverent, recently relocated Daniel, an internet-ordained Dudeist minister who follows the carefree philosophy of The Dude from the movie The Big Lebowski.Daniel flouts social conventions by wearing bathrobes in public and challenging authority. Although initially rejecting his overtures, Danielle warms up to him after he pretends to be her boyfriend to show up Heather. They become true friends, her first since Emily. She learns acceptance from him, and he grows to trust her enough to come out to her as gay. Through revealing therapy with Marv, Danielle has emotional flashbacks about witnessing Emily's shooting death as a child, evoking trauma and guilt. She turns to her loving "Forever Aunt" Joyce, and her workshop peers, for support in working through her pain and, also, surprisingly, to Jacob's kind girlfriend Keira.After briefly basking in popularity during a risky game on a school trip, a drunken Jacob humiliates Danielle with a callous kiss. Bolstered by Daniel's candor about his own shame in staying closeted to hold his broken family together, she confronts Jacob. But, after, Daniel mentions their shared childhood, which Danielle didn't recall, triggering Danielle's memories and a violent collapse. She finally confesses her guilt to Marv over failing to save Emily. With his help, she forgives herself at long last and begins grieving. Danielle and Daniel attend prom as friends. After graduating, they memorialize Emily in a Dudeist ritual before Danielle visits Emily's grave, ready to process her grief. She adds a snow globe representing her bond with Daniel to her collection, alongside the one Emily gave her.
