A Real Chelsea Commercial

     We came home Wednesday to find the block in front of the Chelsea lined with movie trucks.  Inside, they’d put down cardboard to protect the marble floor of the lobby.  It was impossible to get an elevator, and upstairs, we found that the movie people had commandeered four floors, including ours.
     Hmmmm, must be a major motion picture, we thought something that requires the hip, Bohemian élan of the Chelsea to give it a little street cred.  A gritty crime drama, perhaps.
     “So what are you guys shooting?” we asked one of the film-crew members who seemed less than fully occupied. 
     “Oh, just a Tylenol PM commercial,” the hipster dude informed us.
      Incredulous, we asked, “Why do you need to shoot in the Chelsea?”
     “No reason, really,” the guy said.  “It’s just people lying in bed.  Could be anywhere.” 
     There would be no reference to the Chelsea. Which is actually probably a good thing since what would a real Chelsea Tylenol PM commercial look like?  Would they cast an actress and show her washing down the pills with whiskey?  Tylenol PM: less painful than throwing yourself down the stairwell. -- Ed Hamilton