Hype 1.4 - Little League World Series

Hype - Slippery Slope

Genre: Crime / Dark Comedy

Director: Stephen Merchant

Writer: Dominic Wilkins

Cast: Seth Green, Charles Baker, Nick Swardson, Alicia Silverstone, Daveed Diggs and Daniel Stern

Plot: Sarah (Alicia Silverstone) asks her employees to give a warm welcome back to their ringleader and fearless mentor David (Seth Green), who comes back from his injury today. The fans have been waiting for their favorite rabbit to come back, because Chuck’s (Charles Baker) efforts were… underwhelming (we see stock footage of Chuck botching the rabbit’s trademark moves). Chuck says he’s sorry he didn’t hold up to his standards, but David assures him that it’s fine. Sarah asks for their attention, because she says she has a way to make even more money, because they can’t keep their scam for the Little League World Series, there are too many sponsors and it’s just not feasible. She thought of something else. Back when David injured himself, the players on the field were so distracted by what happened and for losing their mascot that it threw them off the game and they lost, despite enjoying a comfortable lead before the incident. She feels like they have to power to somehow influence the outcome of games and they can use that in their favor. We all know parents can get a little too excited for their children (cut to stock footage of parents who are way too excited and engaged in a Little League baseball game) and this is the World Series we’re talking about, so if they can think they could make money of their child’s team, they will be so confident in their abilities that they will accept. Dennis (Daniel Stern) will take the wagers and she’ll give them instructions through a air piece. This can work, but she needs their support. She asks them if they’re on board. Steve (Nick Swardson) expresses concerns over their abilities as mascots, given they haven’t done this for a long time and tells him to just shut up and do his job, he’s just putting on a stupid costume and entertaining children, it can’t be that hard. He warns her that everyone who claimed that found out soon enough it is more difficult than it looks. Frustrated, she asks them once again if they’re on board and they say, in unison, that they are ready to make her plan work.

David enters his favorite bar and orders the same beer he usually does. Just like every other time, Julian (Daveed Diggs) is already there. He asks him what happened to him, he hasn’t seen him for a while and David says he gave himself a concussion at the job, it was this whole big thing. Julian asks him if that’s the reason why he’s drinking tonight and David says he doesn’t need a reason to drink, but Julian argues that every recovering alcoholic always find an excuse to drink again, so what’s his excuse tonight. David points out that he asks a lot of questions and he’s really judgemental for someone who seems to live on that stool, but he’s right, he’s drinking for a reason. He just wants to forget how he’S going to abuse a parent’s love of his child for his own advantage and he explains the whole plan to Julian, while they share drinks.

Steve, David, Dennis, Chuck and Sarah drive together to the stadium, where Sarah recaps everything they’re supposed to do today. She got them the majority of mascot contracts for the tournament, so they need to take advantage of every opportunity. Their focus will remain on Australia, the least-favored participant, because this is where they will make the most money. She understands why they would like to encourage their home state, but even if Australia comes face to face with Louisiana, they would need to push an Australia win.

Moments later, David gives a pep talk to Chuck and Steve. The first game pits the state of Kentucky against the state of Alaska. Kentucky starts as the heavy favorite and they must do everything in their favor to make Alaska win. Dennis counts the jackpot, they can make a lot of money out of this match alone, enough to boost David’s confidence that they can really make a lot of money with this, but Steve and Chuck are nervous. David asks them to simply follow his lead and everything will turn out to alright. Chuck scans through the crowd and he notices that superfan Wilson Devereaux isn’t here. It’s highly unusual for him to miss games and they haven’t seen him for about two weeks. Steve wonders where he is , but David tells them there’s no time for that, it’s their time to shine.

Fast forward to the seventh inning, Kentucky is enjoying a three-point lead and Chuck, thanks to killer dance moves, does enough to distract the Kentucky pitcher, so he throws three consecutive bases on balls before he’s replaced. The batter hits a fly ball to center field and Steve initiates a loud crowd reaction that spooks the center fielder and he drops the ball. The error brings in four runners in and Alaska takes the lead. David works the crowd to get them behind the underdogs and Alaska is able to edge out a one-point win. Sarah makes bank and Dennis redistribute part of the money to the few people who placed a bet on Alaska. Sarah tells them in their ear-piece that they have to keep this going. 

We see a fast footage of them trying various ways to get the team they want to win and they are successful. Australia is advancing in the tournament and they are making a lot of money with it. In between two games, David, Chuck and Steve try to go and talk to Sarah, but they welcomed by Dennis, instead. He orders them to throw away their headpieces and to not answer any questions about this. David doesn’t understand what he’s talking about and Steve points at something outside the stadium. Sarah is arrested and she’s pushed inside a police car. It looks like they’re in trouble.