Connor Morley’s 6-minute comedy The Scene takes a nightmare that almost every director is painfully familiar with and turns the frustration into comedy: the lead actor cannot remember their lines. The words marine life scientist find themselves twisted beyond recognition in the hands of lead actor, Edward Vanterbus (Samson Zilic); zoologist is the least atrocious… Continue reading The Scene: Self-Referential Comedy At Its Most Non-Fictional
Tag: Comedy Short Film Review
The Sum of Several Sticky Situations involving Salami Sticks: Sticky, Gushy, Smelly, Farcical Extravaganza
Oli Stening’s The Sum of Several Sticky Situations involving Salami Sticks commits itself to twenty-one minutes of batty horror and comedy spread across six chapters, following the salami sticks stolen off a cop but going into tangents that are more abrupt than the sprays of blood you get in the face after dismembering a live… Continue reading The Sum of Several Sticky Situations involving Salami Sticks: Sticky, Gushy, Smelly, Farcical Extravaganza
The Dealer: Micro Comedy on a Micro Budget
James Peacock’s The Dealer, a 5-minute comedy written by Sam Liddell, has its protagonist shuttling between its two other characters with an urgent stash to refill. A simple plotline in simple presentation, the story is an amusing gag filmed on a smartphone. Brad (Samuel Peacock) has just returned from a trip for odds and ends… Continue reading The Dealer: Micro Comedy on a Micro Budget
One-Minute Time Machine: Romance and Science Equal Excellent Comedy
Devon Avery’s famed One-Minute Time Machine, written by Sean Crouch, is certainly entertaining, carrying that specific 2010s charm and sense of humour both as a rom-com and a sci-fi. The story of a man discovering there are hidden costs to his experiments with science and romance, its snappily paced 6-minute runtime is an enjoyable ride… Continue reading One-Minute Time Machine: Romance and Science Equal Excellent Comedy
Alternative Math: An Unfortunately Relevant Political Satire
David Maddox’s Alternative Math satirises Trumpian post-truth era through the story of a math teacher who finds herself facing bad faith arguments that soon threaten her life and livelihood. Does 2+2 equal 22 or is she against the First Amendment? The media falls into a frenzy. Released in 2017, nearly a year after Trump was… Continue reading Alternative Math: An Unfortunately Relevant Political Satire
Dream Big: With Great Tiny Art Comes Great Responsibility to Avoid Localised Disasters
Pip Swallow’s 12-minute Dream Big is a fantasy comedy that teaches its timid protagonist to not just increase the scope of her dreams but make the decisive move to realise them. If it involves magical means, it is only to level the playing field. The film introduces Miranda (Rhoda Ofori-Attah) as something like pre-powers Spiderman.… Continue reading Dream Big: With Great Tiny Art Comes Great Responsibility to Avoid Localised Disasters
Avocado: Wrecked Date Nights and Their Quick Fixes
Casey de Fremery’s Avocado is a 7-minute BDSM comedy that borders ever so shyly on camp. An anniversary date night that takes a turn for the worse, Gabriela and Neil’s tryst with BDSM yields revelations that deviate sharply from any expectations their instruction manual set them up with. The whole of the film takes place… Continue reading Avocado: Wrecked Date Nights and Their Quick Fixes
Ghost Town: A Friendly Road Trip Into Supernatural Territory
Molly Muse’s Ghost Town, in which she appears with her co-writer Britt Harris, is a 15-minute horror-comedy with a smattering of movie references. Set in Bodie, the largest ghost town in the US, it charts the journey of two friends who must make their way through the desolate landscape. Their aim: undo a curse before it… Continue reading Ghost Town: A Friendly Road Trip Into Supernatural Territory
Vanilla: Method Acting, Roleplaying, and How the Two Don’t Mix
Chase Pearson’s Vanilla, built as a classic sex comedy, uses its many twists and turns to deliver laughs that come right at the peak of tension, sexual and otherwise. Premised on a date that leads to kinky places, the film’s wild plot is not never-seen-before stuff but is original enough to earn the laughs it… Continue reading Vanilla: Method Acting, Roleplaying, and How the Two Don’t Mix
Backwards: A Wholesome Comedy and its Psychoanalytic Base
Sarah Klearman’s Backwards is an eccentric comedy with just a dash of romance, the narrative moving forward with the latter as its destination. Centred around a man who has a history with kites (strong enough that it is perhaps the reason why he can only walk backwards), the film goes for the cute/strange spectacle in… Continue reading Backwards: A Wholesome Comedy and its Psychoanalytic Base