SUZIE GOLD

On the surface Suzie’s life seems perfect. She has great friends, career opportunities and a loving family. However, while living at home with her parents Barbara and Irving and her rebellious teenage brother Toby, Suzie slowly comes to realize the truly neurotic, albeit loving, nature of her family. Suzie’s younger sister Sophie is getting married and the pressure is on for her to follow suit. The intensity of this pressure builds when Anthony Silver, the ‘perfect’ boy from a good Jewish family returns from university and comes to dinner at the Gold household. Barbara, characteristically unsubtle in manner, cannot contain her enthusiasm and even Suzie can’t help but feel excited at the thought of seeing the almost legendary, handsome and wealthy Anthony. Much to the delight of her parents, Anthony courts Suzie and asks her out on a date. Excited by the prospect, Suzie obsesses over every detail of her appearance – she wants to impress the ‘perfect’ boy on their ‘perfect’ date. Much to her surprise and dismay, however, Anthony’s idea of a perfect date couldn’t be further from her own. He takes her to a skating rink for ‘Jews on Ice’ where Suzie spends half the time crawling on the ice while Anthony, self-importantly, talks away on his mobile. Despite his strong credentials in the eyes of her family Suzie realizes that it is more a case of pressure than real attraction that draws her to Anthony and, for her, there is no real connection. Still, Suzie feels compelled not to close any doors and convinces herself that one day she could – and would have to – grow to love a nice Jewish boy like Anthony. However, the situation is complicated when Suzie starts an exciting new job as a runner at a television station. Her first day on the job she meets the smart, sexy, and charming Darren. Run-ins in the photocopy room and casual dates eventually turn into something more serious and Suzie has never felt happier or more comfortable with anyone. But there is one major problem in their relationship – Darren is not Jewish. And although Suzie feels completely at ease when she is with Darren, she feels ashamed and incapable of introducing him to her family. She worries that her parents could never accept Darren on the basis of his differing faith. This thought is only reconfirmed when Darren drops by Suzie’s house thinking, mistakenly, that her parents aren’t there. When her mother walks in to find him in the kitchen with Suzie she accidentally mistakes him for the plumber because of the way he is dressed and looks. The only member of her family she confides in is her loving grandmother Sadie who encourages Suzie to do what makes her happy. But part of the allure of her relationship with Darren is the very fact that it is her own secret from her family – she does not want to give it up. Darren does not see their relationship in the same way, however, and after introducing Suzie to his mother and to all of his friends without any reciprocation on her part he can’t help but feel that he is fighting a losing battle with her. Suzie puts too much weight on what her family might think for Darren’s liking and he ends their relationship. Her break-up is also eclipsed by the death of her beloved grandmother. She takes leave from work to grieve with her family, drawing her closer to her parents and rekindling an appreciation for her culture and traditions. When she returns to work to find that Darren has left the station she decides to give Anthony another chance with the hope that she might fall in love with him. Motivated by thoughts of making her family happy and living the life expected of her she believes that she can make it work. But, at Sophie’s wedding things get serious. To her mother’s sheer delight and to Suzie’s horror Anthony upstages the show by seeking a commitment from her in front of everyone she has ever known. Suzie is faced with a crisis. She has to decide whether a life that conforms to her family’s expectations and social conventions is more important than following her own feelings.