By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/24/24 – It has been many years since America has faced such division than at the moment. With the MAGA crowd and liberal left staring across that divide with anger and mistrust of each other, their attitudes and philosophies being 180 degrees apart.
So, what would happen if you stranded a MAGA couple and a pair of married lefty lesbians on the same small remote beach in the Florida Keys? One might expect fireworks, as the clash of cultures—and a sudden summer squall—forces the four of them into the cramped confines of a small tent.
This is the premise of writer/director Coley Sohn’s thought-provoking new film Mud Key (2024), a timely two-sided take on the partisan conflict our country is currently experiencing.
Sohn, who also acts in the film, plays Jodi, the femme half of the liberal couple, who dotes on their little lapdog and strikes a more accommodating attitude than her butch wife Liz, played brilliantly by Linda Bagley. The MAGA couple, D.J. and Amber – Chris MacKenzie and Quinn Sullivan, respectively – are stuck with the very liberal lesbian couple when Jodi accidentally beaches their boat on a tiny remote Florida Key, crashing the right-wing couple’s campsite.
As the tide rolls out, the four realize the impossibility of freeing the boat from its sandy prison until the tide rolls back in. A string of events forces the quartet, plus pup, to huddle together in the MAGA pair’s small tent during a sudden summer squall.
The circumstances force these two couples to interact and spend time together thus compelling them to recognize that they are truly not that different from one another.
Mud Key is a very funny and pointed story that combines so many elements of the political/social conflict in America today. Sohn’s script and the performances of these four artists do an amazing job portraying the conflicting perspectives. Sohn visited with The Hollywood Times recently and talked about her wonderful film.
Click below for our exclusive interview:
“My wife and I spend a lot of time in the Florida Keys – Key West, in particular – and as you do, when you are there, you spend time on the water,” Sohn said as she spoke about the location and inspiration for her film. “We frequent the actual spot on Mud Key.”
Sohn said the plot of her film mirrors life down to the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag that the redneck couple proudly fly from their own boat. Likewise, the uncomfortable alliance the couples strike is taken from Sohn’s experiences in the Keys.
“We’re still amazed when we go to Mud Key,” she said with a laugh. “We’re like, ‘there’s D.J and Amber,’ and they kind of sniff us out. ‘Oh! California lesbians!’ and then everybody makes nice. (The film) is my attempt to personally come to terms with stereotypes and how similar we all actually are.”
The cast certainly brings this tale to life and breathes authenticity into the clash of cultures. The lovingly adversarial dynamic between Sohn and Bagley also rings true.
“Well, that’s my wife in real life,” Sohn said of her co-star both in front of and behind the camera. “She’s never acted before, and so directing it was like everything you shouldn’t do – on the water, with an animal, and a first-time actor who happens to be your wife. Like, what could go wrong?”
From the resulting film’s charm and thought-provoking qualities, absolutely nothing went wrong here. MacKenzie and Sullivan, who is a lesbian, play an amazing version of a couple who have more than tasted the Kool-Aid of the radical conservative philosophy, helping Mud Key to have a truly authentic and timely story to tell……
Sohn, whose previous work includes the short film “Boutonniere,” which premiered at Sundance, went on to inspire the feature version, Sassy Pants. Those were co-produced alongside Bagley, Chad McClarnon, and Noreen Dimster Denk. Mud Key is Sohn’s second feature as a director.
Mud Key is available to rent and own on North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, or on DVD.
