Hello! Long time, no skit. For which I can only apologise. Also, I can only apologise for the following in equal measure.
INT. TONY'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
A painfully middle class living room. Four members of a book group (TONY, MALCOLM, JANET and BECCA) sit around on comfortable furniture. M&S nibbles are plated up on the coffee table, generous glasses of Chilean merlot are being sipped.
TONY
So, welcome everyone. Ditchling Book Group is in session. Let's get down to it, shall we?
He picks up a hefty book and looks around the group.
TONY (Cont'd)
Infinite Jest. The 21st century's foremost book du jour. David Foster Wallace's acclaimed magnum opus. What, um, did we all think?
A pregnant pause.
JANET
Well, I thought--I found the...central theme very, um, interesting.
Everyone nods and mutters a little too earnestly. Another long pause.
MALCOLM
Yes. I think--Erm, I guess I would start by saying that I found it a fascinating example of satirical tragicomedy.
TONY
Satirical tragicomedy?
MALCOLM
Yep. Why, where would you say it sat, genre-wise, Tony?
There is an accusatory tone to his voice. Tony licks his lips nervously.
TONY
Well, I mean, I'm not professing to be an expert. I just provide the wine and the nibbles and the John Lewis memory foam armchairs. But, um, to me, I'd place it more in the...hysterical realism category.
MALCOLM
Oh. You would, would you?
TONY
Um, y--yes. With, I guess I'd say, a, erm, metamodernist slant.
MALCOLM
Hmm. Metamodernist? And...what does that mean? Exactly?
A flop sweat develops on Tony's brow. Bluff called. He grabs a plate of nibbles and tries to change the subject.
TONY
Jerusalem artichoke and quinoa bite, anyone?
Malcolm's eyes narrow. Sensing the tension, Janet gestures to the final member of the group.
JANET
Um, Becca, what did you...think?
Becca looks back at the rest of the group and manages a guilty smile.
BECCA
Ok. I just--I have to be honest with you all. I respect the sanctity of what we have here at the Ditchling Book Group too much to lie.
(deep breath, then)
I didn't read it.
Gasps from around the table. Becca winces and looks around the shocked faces of the group, eager for repentance.
BECCA (Cont'd)
I'm sorry. I got, I dunno, thirty pages in and I just had...no idea what was going on. It was like trying to digest an ADHD toddler's diary. So I just reread Eat, Pray, Love on my Kindle instead. Please, can you...try to forgive me?
A long pause. The others stare back at Becca. Then:
MALCOLM / TONY / JANET
Oh, thank god for that! / Couldn't finish it either! / I'm still stuck on the first chapter!
BECCA
Really?!
JANET
Yes! How did this stupid book get so popular?
MALCOLM
It's an absolute nightmare! Just...impenetrable broken English, nonsensical grammar...
TONY
The narrative jumps he makes are just maddening. I got all my notes for tonight from Wikipedia--
MALCOLM
Ah! I knew I recognised that phrasing! Me too! Satirical tragicomedy, indeed.
They laugh and take sips of wine. The atmosphere becomes more serious.
JANET
Whose recommendation was this? Who actually read this book and decided to inflict 1000 pages of deluded faux intellectual ramblings on other actual human beings?
TONY
Ah. That was my friend Steve. He told me that reading it was the most eye-opening literary experience of his life.
BECCA
But--How? How did he get through it?
MALCOLM
I think...we need to get to the bottom of this.
A chorus of agreement. Tony jumps out of his John Lewis memory phone armchair.
TONY
To the Ditchling Book Group-mobile!
INT. TONY'S HYBRID SUV - MOMENTS LATER
The four members of the book group sit in Tony's hybrid SUV as they race across Ditchling just below the local speed limit.
INT. STEVE'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The four members of the book group sit in an interrogation-style huddle around STEVE, in the middle of grilling him. He looks terrified.
MALCOLM
Come on, it's not that hard a question!
JANET
Infinite Jest, Steve. What's the main character's name?
TONY
Most eye-opening literary experience of your life, you told me! Surely you can remember one little name.
BECCA
Don't make the Ditchling Book Group angry, Steve. I'd hate for something to happen to your lovely Chesterfield...
She holds a glass of Chilean merlot above Steve's cream lambswool sofa, swirling the deep red liquid around inside.
STEVE
Ok! Ok! Not the--! Look, I didn't finish it, ok?
Gasps of shock from the book group. They all take a step back.
STEVE (Cont'd)
It's just--It's so...long. Page after page of pretentious, unconnected waffle dressed up as some sort of grandiose masterpiece!
TONY
But...why? Why even bother trying to read it?
STEVE
Yvonne. From work. She recommended it. Kept going on about what a unique, seminal work it was. I just--I wanted to see it for myself, wanted to prove that I could appreciate anything she could. All I ever see her reading on her lunch break is Stephanie bloody Meyer, so I didn't think it could be that hard...
Steve's lip quivers. He bursts into tears.
STEVE (Cont'd)
But it was hard! It was so, so hard! I just ended up googling a summary of the plot in case she asked me about it!
The book group exchange knowing glances and nods.
TONY
Yvonne...
INT. VARIOUS HOUSES - MONTAGE
HOUSE 1: The book group surrounds YVONNE, pointing at her and threatening to tip yet more Chilean merlot on her imported oriental rug.
BECCA (V.O)
It didn't take us long to realise that this went higher even than poor, simple Yvonne. She gave up after twenty pages and cribbed her opinions from posts on Goodreads, after her neighbour Patrick had recommended she read it...
HOUSE 2: PATRICK shakes his head in despair as the book group menace his CHIHUAHUA with a platinum letter opener.
BECCA (V.O) (Cont'd)
...And he had just watched a review on YouTube because he couldn't make it past the second time the author decided to stop using paragraphs for a few pages for no discernable reason, after his squash partner Francis had insisted he read it...
HOUSE 3: FRANCIS watches on in agony from behind an antique kitchen table as Malcolm tips bottle after bottle of priceless scotch down the sink.
BECCA (V.O) (Cont'd)
...And so on, and so on. With every new character we encountered, we reached another dead end in our search for the truth, another person who hadn't actually read Infinite Jest...
HOUSE 4: An entire FAMILY watches helplessly as JANET pours paint stripper into their cast iron saute pan.
BECCA (V.O) (Cont'd)
...Did we cross the line? Maybe. More than once. But we couldn't give up on our quest. No matter how deep down the rabbit hole we went. We knew we had to go wherever we needed to go...
INT. AEROPLANE CABIN - DAY
The first class cabin of a transatlantic flight. The book group reclines in their seats, sipping cocktails.
BECCA (V.O) (Cont'd)
...Because we are...the Ditchling Book Group.
INT. PUBLISHER'S OFFICE - DAY
A lavish New York office. A PUBLISHER (American) walks in, scrolling through his schedule on his iPad. He pauses, sensing something is wrong.
He whirls around to see the BOOK GROUP, now dressed all in black like a precision MI6 strike team, reveal themselves.
PUBLISHER
Wh--? Who are you? How did you get in here--?
MALCOLM
We'll ask the questions. Get him!
Janet grabs the Publisher and forces him into the swivel chair in front of his desk, as Becca ties his hands behind his back.
PUBLISHER
What the hell are you--?
TONY
Infinite Jest.
The Publisher shuts up immediately. Beads of sweat form on his forehead.
TONY (Cont'd)
I assume you recognise that name.
BECCA
We understand that you're the one who greenlit the publishing deal...
The Publisher licks his lips. Malcolm casually takes out a rustic cheese knife and brings it to bear on the iPad's pristine glass screen.
PUBLISHER
W--Wait. Yes. Y--Yes, that was me.
MALCOLM
Clever boy.
He lifts the knife away from the screen a few inches, but not entirely. Janet stoops down so she is face to face with the Publisher.
JANET
We've been searching a long time for answers. So, tell us, what really stood out to you.
PUBLISHER
I...um...I don't understand what you're--
BECCA
(snapping)
When you read it! What impressed you about Infinite Jest? Help us to understand! We need to see what you saw!
The Publisher glances at the book group's imposing glares. He quivers.
PUBLISHER
...I didn't--I didn't read it, ok??
Stunned silence. Malcolm drops the rustic cheese knife to the floor.
PUBLISHER (Cont'd)
It's--It was just too...long. Pages and pages of grotesquely incoherent drivel! Incomprehensible turns of phrase, confusing characters, and those stupid, stupid names. I couldn't even tell what it was. Biting satire? Dystopian sci-fi? Moralistic stream of consciousness? Elaborate parody?
MALCOLM
Satirical tragicomedy--?
PUBLISHER
Yeah, we've all read the Wikipedia article!
(then, emotional)
I...couldn't get past page ten. I tried skim reading, but...
He starts to weep. The book group's stances start to soften.
PUBLISHER (Cont'd)
I just didn't want anyone to think I was stupid! So I green-lit the thing! I told David Foster Wallace himself that it was the most awe-inspiring thing I'd ever read! I even tripled the marketing budget to hype the thing up before launch!
Janet stands up and looks around at the other members of the book group. They all look slightly guilty, seeing the broken man in front of them.
TONY
My god...
MALCOLM
I just...I can't believe that's the answer. That's where all of this was leading...
BECCA
After everything we've been through. The things we've done. The blood...red merlot on our hands!
JANET
"Beware, for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you..."
MALCOLM
Friedrich Nietzsche--
JANET
Not now, Malcolm.
TONY
So...what now? Is it over?
They stare at the scene, at their hands, at the tied-up Publisher. Who suddenly starts to cackle ominously, in a slightly unhinged manner.
PUBLISHER
Oh, you poor, poor fools. You think this is over? That this is the end? You think you're the first book group from provincial England to fly over to New York, break into my office and assault me because of Infinite Jest? No. You're part of this now. You're all part of this.
TONY
Wh--What are you saying--?
PUBLISHER
Come on, surely you see? The unnecessarily bloated journey you've been on? The confusing number of characters you've interacted with? The unsatisfactory pay-off of this final scene? Remind you of anything?
Janet gasps in shock. Tony shakes his head defiantly.
BECCA
Oh, god--No, it can't be--?
PUBLISHER
What was it, hmm? When did you fall into the trap? Simple little book group skit, I guess? Quick two or three pager, nothing too complicated--?
Malcolm grabs the rustic cheese knife from the floor and holds it up, his hand shaking.
MALCOLM
D--Don't you dare play around with the fourth wall! Not here! Not now!
PUBLISHER
Yeah, that's how it usually starts. And before you realise, it's become bloated, distended, unwieldy. And it's started to take on the form of that which you hate more than anything else--
BECCA
That's not what's happened! We are not part of--!
PUBLISHER
I assure you, you are. You all are. You're just the latest victims of that book.
Janet starts sobbing. Becca sinks to her knees. Tony balls his fists in impotent rage.
TONY
But--How can we escape? How can we stop this?
PUBLISHER
I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that. As far as I understand, there's only one person that does. The only person that's ever read the whole goddamn thing. You'd have to ask him.
JANET
Who??
PUBLISHER
David Foster Wallace.
The book group consider this, perplexed.
MALCOLM
But...he's dead!
PUBLISHER
Yes. He is. So, I think you all know there's only one way you can all meet him...
The Ditchling Book Group look at each other with horrified realisation. Unsettling music begins to drift into the scene from somewhere. One by one, they nod. They know what they have to do. One or two of them whimper slightly.
Malcolm raises the rustic cheese knife up in front of him...and plunges it into his chest.
Janet unscrews the top off the bottle of paint thinner...and takes a series of long glugs.
Becca brings the platinum letter opener up to her wrist...and slashes across.
Tony smashes a bottle of Chilean merlot on the side of the Publisher's desk...and drags the jagged glass end across his neck.
The four members of the Ditchling Book Group collapse to the floor. All still, unmoving. The still-restrained Publisher relaxes slightly. The unsettling music slowly fades away.
The door opens and a SECRETARY walks in. She sees the scene of carnage in front of her and stops. But she doesn't look shocked.
SECRETARY
Infinite Jest?
The Publisher nods. The secretary sighs.
SECRETARY
I'll call the cleaner...
THE END