Jonas and Mike have spent every summer vacation together since they were in high school. But this year, the journey ends before it can begin as they are forced to push Jonas’ broken-down car, the last remaining artifact of a relationship gone bad, from garage to garage in an industrial Seattle ghetto. Jonas, a heartbroken, disillusioned and mildly depressed architect and Mike, a go with the flow, attention seeking, goof-off, begin to detach themselves from their sterile nine-to-five routines. They soon engage with a gritty reality filled with dark humor, shady mechanics, and tense encounters with the locals of an overlooked industrial wasteland. As they struggle to leave, they meet a fiery young woman named Anna, a warm-hearted Pakistani immigrant named Shabot and become entangled with Boomer, an Iraq war veteran who has seen unimaginable horrors. With the story plunging deeper into chaos, the two friends learn of Anna's heart-wrenching past and discover Boomer’s dark secrets, climaxing with an unimaginable situation that neither may survive.
The screenplay explores the anti-hero journey to self-discovery and the relationships of two privileged Seattleite's and their counterparts - locals of a dilapidated working class suburb just outside of 'The Emerald City' where crumbling architecture and poor commerce reign. It is influenced by the effects of current events such as the War in Iraq, Global Warming, Early 20-30 Something Adulthood Crisis and the death of the American automobile.
At first glance, "Rat City Blues" is a classic drama: the story of two best friends with very different chosen paths, who's life long friendship has become strained because of a shift in ideology and difference in life experiences. Our need to know what happens to the friends along their tumultuous journey is what keeps us absorbed in the story. But beneath all of this, there are much stronger and compelling thematic veins which pulse an energy that will captivate the audience. The script provides a very clear story and strong characters that combine to allow for a thorough exploration of ideas and relationships.