Raphael Frost Gonzalez’s Remind Me in an Hour is a surprisingly complex examination of romantic relationships for a premise as simple. A woman finds a breakup reminder on her (rather inattentive) boyfriend’s phone. Yet, in 9 minutes the film dissects relationships and audience expectations with deftness. The narrative sets up a deceptively simple chain of… Continue reading Remind Me in an Hour: The Mechanics Of Comfortable Relationships
Tag: Comedy Short Film Review
I Don’t Know: A Comedy Of Cosmic Magnitude
Veronika Bolotina’s I Don’t Know (co-written with Jacob Eriksson) is a very masculine Inside Out (2015) with a hint of Split (2016). A 12-minute comedy about the struggle of a man over asking someone out, the film goes further to involve the universe itself. Interestingly, it is the universe and not God who is invoked… Continue reading I Don’t Know: A Comedy Of Cosmic Magnitude
The History of Nipples: Dark Comedy, Dark Red Horror
Bailey Tom Bailey’s The History of Nipples has taken one man’s existential crisis caused by his nipples and turned it into a horror-comedy that is as fun as it is sincerely horrifying without going overboard. This, despite graphic self-mutilation (the trick that the film uses is to present it without loud dramatisation). Ron Burt (Joseph… Continue reading The History of Nipples: Dark Comedy, Dark Red Horror
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Road To Comedy Is A Horror Story
In Ladies and Gentlemen, Gabriel Oliva puts the blinding spotlight on the excruciating awkwardness of trying to make it in comedy and living on the edge of failing. The 6-minute comedy works especially well for its short duration, striking the right balance between embarrassing and funny with its protagonist, Nan’s set at an open mic… Continue reading Ladies and Gentlemen: The Road To Comedy Is A Horror Story
Death of an Umbrella Salesman: Humour To Wash Down Misery
Steve Herold’s 17-minute comedy Death of an Umbrella Salesman (co-written with James L. Palmer) chronicles a day in the life of a struggling umbrella salesman who saves a couple of lives and comes close to his own end. Sadness, of course, begets humour. With the very first few cuts, the film demonstrates its merit. That… Continue reading Death of an Umbrella Salesman: Humour To Wash Down Misery
How To Hack Birth Control: Sound Information Wrapped In Satirical Goodness
The first installment of Sassy Mohen’s three part series How To Hack Birth Control, a show focused on cis women’s sex life and the role of birth control in it, is a wickedly funny 30-minute trip into helpful, accurate sex ed, flanked by game show sequences and scene crashings by its charmingly scathing narrator (read… Continue reading How To Hack Birth Control: Sound Information Wrapped In Satirical Goodness
His Name Was Gerry: Processing Grief With Fireworks And Heartwarming Lightness
Peter Lee Scott’s His Name Was Gerry opens on a grim scene. A boy processing the death of his best friend. It is a violent process, involving several smashed pieces of furniture. But this is meant to be a comedy; the rug is pulled out from beneath you soon enough. It is heralded by a… Continue reading His Name Was Gerry: Processing Grief With Fireworks And Heartwarming Lightness
Pragma: Love, Technology And Further Complicated Questions About Choices
One would not necessarily expect to be moved by a film about finding love through big data, and one would be wrong. Director Ellie Heydon achieves everything she sets up Pragma to be: funny, weird, oddly profound, and surprisingly moving. Written by and starring Lucy Heath, the 20-minute film weaves in these elements with skill… Continue reading Pragma: Love, Technology And Further Complicated Questions About Choices
Stand uP: A Family Drama About Comedy
For a film that is about comedy and is partially a comedy, Jonathan Samukange’s Stand uP is rather aptly titled with a pun. Henry, a stand-up comedian, has to break the news of his career decision to his conservative parents and, when backed into a corner, stand up for himself. It starts with a set.… Continue reading Stand uP: A Family Drama About Comedy
The Trust: A Pop Culture Rich Pandemic Comedy
A 11-minute pandemic comedy, Harris Shore’s The Trust uses the ‘Zoom call’ style to unfold its comedy about a dead man and the trust he left behind. Said trust is to be read by the family attorney over a video conference to the man’s widow and son. And his CPA. The film makes snide references throughout. The… Continue reading The Trust: A Pop Culture Rich Pandemic Comedy