SYNOPSIS:

What would have happened if at the end of the John Hughes’ movie SIXTEEN CANDLES, Molly Ringwald didn’t win the heart of Jake Ryan? That is the case for STEVIE PARKS (33) who longed for that 80’s rom-com moment with her first crush but, it never happened. After experiencing heartbreak as a teenager, Stevie is a commitment-phobe Boston Police officer who is stuck living in the past until she can get closure from the one person who broke her heart seventeen years ago.

With a short flashback, we see that it all started at a 16th birthday party in 1995 with a game of spin the bottle. The class cutie, JOSH CAMPBELL, was dared to kiss Stevie. But, just when they were about to lock lips, the moment was interrupted by the birthday girl’s mother and put to an immediate stop. Although the kiss wasn’t pursued with Josh, a summer fling was, but little did Stevie know that those three short months would dictate her dating life for the next 17 years.

Josh, who was new in town at the time, started hanging around with Stevie’s older and over-protective brother, BRIAN PARKS (35). It was then that Stevie was left with no closure as well as a broken heart. Because of this, Stevie developed a fear of commitment and her dating life consisted of a string of bad dates, failed relationships and one night stands. Her walks of shame are usually witnessed by her new neighbor ERIC ANDERSEN (33), a criminal lawyer, who moved into the Brownstone apartment building two doors down from her in the up and coming Boston’s South End. She often feels that he is passing judgement on her.

Stevie often retreats to the communal rooftop deck of her Brownstone building to unwind and where she eventually runs into Eric. She sees this as an opportunity to confront him about his judging ways, which he then tells her that it may be what she’s seeing but it’s not what he’s doing. After a few more chance encounters on the rooftop, he lends a much needed unbiased and supportive ear. This is when a friendship starts to develop and Stevie learns that they have more in common than she thought.

Stevie confides in Eric that she is finally, after seventeen years, going to see Josh at her brother’s upcoming wedding and hopes they can pick up where they left off. Eric tells her that she’s caught up on the idea of Josh and that, “she has no idea who or what kind of man he’s become” and that she should move on. This angers her and bitter feelings develop, which makes life difficult and uncomfortable with living two doors down from each other.

It wasn’t until her sister-in-law’s dreaded bachelorette party that Eric redeems himself by saving her from a night of karaoke and line dancing. This, of course, after she got trapped into singing karaoke prompted by her new friend and “wing woman” PENELOPE MOORE (35), her future sister-in-law’s cousin from Wisconsin, who teaches Stevie how to live a little. This results in getting Stevie on stage and singing a Joan Jett song where Penelope acts up a back up singer and plays an impressive air guitar. Later that evening on a romantic stroll to their brownstone, Stevie and Eric have a connection which leads to a night of passion and for Stevie, a mistake.

The days leading up to the wedding, Stevie gets advice from those closest to her. Her no nonsense partner, police officer ACE WINTERS (late 40’s) who tells her that she’s a victim of 80’s rom-coms and insists that “dudes like Jake Ryan don’t exist in the real world”. Her pregnant best friend JESSICA HAVENS (33), who keeps a mental diary of Stevie’s dating life, tells her that she’s missing out on relationships with great men because she’s caught up on Josh. She points out to Stevie that she has no problem running towards danger but when it comes to love, she runs in the opposite direction.

To make matters worse, Stevie’s future sister-in-law, GWEN HARRINGTON (35) who is jealous of Stevie’s relationship with her brother Brian, will do anything to make her life miserable. During the rehearsal dinner, Gwen sees an opportunity to embarrass Stevie. This leads Stevie to confront her brother where she tells him that if he weren’t so overprotective in high school, she’d still be with Josh, and blames him for her commitment issues. Over time, Stevie’s conversations with Eric grow deeper as well as her feelings but she’s determined to stick with her plan and see if the feelings she has for Josh are mutual. On the day of the wedding, Stevie has a change of heart. She discovers after another short flashback to that 16th birthday party, that the person she’s been looking for her whole life is closer than she thinks. For the first time in her life, she runs toward love and finally has that John Hughes’ moment but, it happens the Stevie Parks way.