Tom Carroll’s “The Stress is Killing Me” stems from a great idea. I mean, all of us have re-evaluated our lives at some point, imagining what it would be like if we had taken a career path that we truly wanted to take when we were young. So, when Carroll offers his characters another chance at life – even if it is for a brief period of time, you’d expect things to be light, breezy, and fun. And while to some extent they are, the writer/director’s failure to capitalize on that premise cannot be forgiven.

A lot of it depends on how the narrative is held together. At first, we are introduced to Kiki (Carly Christopher) – a lawyer stressfully driving down with her friend Marcie (Lisa Lucas) to their University’s 20-year reunion. The hot-shot lawyer is anxious because she will be meeting her college boyfriend Jason...