CHOICE
Writer: Brian Crewe, Marion Kerr
Director: Brian Crewe
Running Time: 5:25
Starring: Marion Kerr
Grade: A-
3.5 Stars
As I watched Marion Kerr bring to life Mabel, a character she'd portrayed previously in Brian Crewe's short film "Learning to Fly," I wept.
I never expected Proposition 8, the California legislation that banned gay and lesbian marriage, to pass. From my home in Indiana, I looked at California with great admiration for being a state that boldly recognized that love is not wrong. As I watched Barack Obama sweep to victory in the presidential elections, even winning Indiana by a narrow margin, I thought that we were finally turning away from a lengthy season of fear, hatred and warmongering.
Then, Proposition 8 passed.
I shuddered.
As Mabel, Marion Kerr captures beautifully and painfully the feelings and thoughts of a young woman whose very being has been devastated by the passage of Proposition 8. With zero special effects and no distractions, Mabel speaks to us intimately and honestly trying to understand why we, the American people, are so afraid of her.
Why are we so afraid?
"Choice" is my favorite kind of film, because it is a film that demands an emotional and physical response. You may not agree with Mabel, but you will be moved by her heart and her mind. You may not rush out to protest Proposition 8, but you will be deeply touched by how it has impacted her daily life.
In the span of just over five minutes, Marion Kerr demands that you stop trusting the stereotypes and preconceived ideas in your head and go deeper within to examine your thoughts, ideas and fears.
The choice is yours.
Or is it?
REUNION
Writer/Director: Adam Kargman
Starring: Derek Armstrong, Megan Harvey, Eben Kostbar, David Manigault, Kelly Marchand, Aaron Massey, Chris Pilon, Amber Slaven, Daryl A. Thomas, Darrick Trimble, Clay Turk, Nadeya Ward, Blair Williamson, David Ryan Ardi, Toni Grafton, Celeste Santiago, Cole Siemers.
Running Time: 12 Mins.
Grade: A
4.0 Stars
In 12 minutes, "Reunion" writer/director Adam Kargman creates a world of infinite possibilities.
In 12 minutes, "Reunion" journeys through the infinite possibilities within the lives of those lost during the Columbine High School massacre on April April 20, 1999.
In 12 minutes, we see the 13 lives as they may have unfolded 10 years later during a ten-year-high school reunion filled with life and hope, success and smiles.
Too optimistic? Perhaps. Surely, not each of the 13 high school students gunned down that way would have masterfully attained their dreams. Yet, "Reunion" isn't about the harsh realities of life. We already know the harsh realities of life that cost 13 students their lives, families their loved ones, a school its innocence and a community the potential contributions of these 13 individuals with distinctly different gifts.
Adam Kargman has researched the hopes and dreams of the 13 young people whose lives were lost and, if only symbolically, he has given them back to them.
Some of the names you will remember more easily than others...Cassie Bernall, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels. Others you may remember once reminded...Kyle Velasquez, Dave Sanders. All deserve to be remembered...Corey DePooter, Jim Luke, Matt Kechter, Daniel Rohrbough, Steve Curnow, Kelly Fleming, John Tomlin and Lauren Townsend.
Just as he played close attention to the real life hopes and dreams of the Columbine victims, so too he sought to find actors and actresses who closely resembled them. Kargman succeeded...sometimes, the actors and actresses not only bear an uncanny physical resemblance but they also are forever connected to the Columbine tragedy themselves.
Derek Armstrong is the real life cousin of Columbine victim Matt Kechter, whom he portrays in "Reunion."
Supporting actress Elizabeth Novotny attended the same church group as Cassie Bernall.
Cast member Debbie Major lived in Littleton, Colorado at the time of the shootings and observed first-hand the community's efforts to heal from the tragedy.
Kargman even casts Blair Williamson, an established actor with Down's Syndrome, in the role of Kyle Velasquez, a student with a developmental disability who was gunned down that day.
Kargman wisely avoids melodrama. He trusts, justifiably so, the inherent power of the images and subtle references to individuals stories that are inter-twined. The images, beautifully created, are haunting because we know the sad reality that has already unfolded.
Acting isn't really the word to describe what occurs in "Reunion." I pondered the famous "Footsteps" story as I was watching "Reunion," in which God is said to be carrying us during our times of greatest need. In "Reunion," these actors and actresses are carrying with them the lives of 13 individuals who shine brightly 10 years later with their hopes and dreams intact.
Intelligently written, beautifully photographed by D.P. Dustin Johnson and featuring stellar original music from Regan, Mother Jones, Jim Luke and Mir Wave, "Reunion" is 12 you won't forget.
TOSSERS
Writer/Director: Danny Grossman
Starring: Danny Grossman, Elisa Dyann, Rob Ullett, Candice Martin, Steve Barr
Running Time: 13:07
Grade: B
3.0 Stars
Written and Directed by Danny Grossman, who has become a favorite of The Independent Critic, "Tossers" may very well be one of Grossman's most unique films yet...and that's saying quite a bit.
"Tossers" is the "true" story of the 4th gay frisbee dancing competition centered largely on two of participating duos.
First, is the team of Simon (Danny Grossman), a prancing punk rocker who looks like he may have been borrowed from "This is Spinal Tap," and Sherman (Rob Ullett), his more straight-laced partner who thinks he's a werewolf.
I admit it. I'm laughing even now just thinking about it.
The reigning champs, Willow ( Elisa Dyann) and Moonbeam (Candice Martin) Goldberg, are less outlandish than their male counterparts but no less funny as VAICANS...Vegans Against Imagining Cruelty to Animals...Oh heck, I can't remember the entire acronym. I was too busy laughing.
As is virtually always true of Grossman's films and those of the Socal Film Group, the strength here is the acting and the relentlessly energetic and spirited performances across the board. Having seen several of Socal's films at this point, I'm increasingly impressed by the wide variety of roles played by the entire crew, especially Grossman and Dyann.
Tech credits are solid as always, though the outdoor scenes are a touch bright early on in the film. "Tossers" is shot in mockumentary style, a favored style of the dryly funny Grossman, whose acting technique is perfectly suited to such a style. He's paired nicely with Rob Ullett, whose deadpan delivery is spot-on perfect and would have been stellar in another short reviewed in this column, "One-Day Seminar."
Grossman and Ullett are matched by the subtler yet often even funnier Elisa Dyann and Candice Martin, whose musical stylings may have you flashing back to Phoebe's "Smelly Cat" or your last outing at your neighborhood Jewish vegan juice bar.
You have been to a Jewish vegan juice bar, right?
One of the joys of Grossman as a writer and director is that he can laugh at AND with his characters without ever being cruel. He mocks them, I guess we could say, but he does so with tongue firmly in cheek and in such a way that you can't help but think he really digs these goofy characters he creates.
Silly, sweet, celebratory and just downright funny, "Tossers" is yet another solid effort from Danny Grossman and Socal Film Group.
THE BEEKEEPER
Writer/Director: Sean J.S. Jourdan
Starring: Michelle Mueller, Sophie Joseph, Michael Joseph Thomas Ward, Oksana Fedunszyn, Joseph Bicicchi
Running Time: 27 Mins.
Website
Grade: B+
3.5 Stars
"The Beekeeper" is part of a bigger picture. That is, "The Beekeeper" is a 27-minute first installment in what writer/director Sean J.S. Jourdan ("An Open Door") intends to be a full-length feature project.
Right now, "The Beekeeper" is serving as Jourdan's MFA Thesis film as he finishes up his degree in Film and Video. Already an award-winning writer/director and a Top 5 Finalist in the MTVu Best Filmmaker on Campus competition, "The Beekeeper" offers further proof that Jourdan is a filmmaker to watch in the future.
"The Beekeeper" is the story of Robin (Michelle Mueller, "The Break Up"), a young woman who is having an affair with her boyfriend's father, Phil (Michael Joseph Thomas Ward, "Blue Car") when she winds up pregnant. When Phil rejects her, Robin turns back to her boyfriend, William (Joseph Bicicchi, "The Express") setting in motion the actions of Phil's wife (Oksana Fedunszyn, "The Fugitive), who discovers the truth.
Jourdan calls "The Beekeeper" a film about "good people who do bad things for what they think are good reasons."
I just call it an intelligent, sensitive and beautifully constructed short film from a promising young filmmaker.
Tech credits for "The Beekeeper" are strong, most notably D.P. Kuba Zelazek's camera work and the musical score of Willis P. Jenkins.
"The Beekeeper" will be shown as a work-in-progress at the Cannes Film Festival.
ONE-DAY SEMINAR
Writer/Director: Martin Binder
Running Time: 17 Mins.
Starring: Tommy Murray, Grover Silcox, Peggy Koleduk
Grade: C
2.0 Stars
"One-Day Seminar" is the perfect example of grassroots filmmaking. Shot on an incredibly modest budget of $1,000, "One-Day Seminar" follows Benson Mountebank (Tommy Murray) as he teaches one of those semi-waste of time one-day seminars that all of us professionals use as an excuse to escape from the office for a day.
Some companies, especially retail stores, love to use these one-day seminars to provide pseudo training and inspiration to its underpaid, overworked managers. Clearly, Binder is trying to capture the self-inflated egos of those who teach these seminars and, yes, the quirky characters who attend them.
Writer/Director Martin Binder has a good idea, yet "One-Day Seminar" doesn't quite gel. This may in part be due to the film's largely novice cast, who seem to get that the film is a mockumentary but don't quite grasp how to sell the script. They "say" the lines, but they don't always "sell" the lines.
Despite the fact that "One-Day Seminar" doesn't quite gel, Binder clearly does display a comic sensibility and has a knack for comic visual presentation. "One-Day Seminar" is a promising effort from Martin Binder, and I look forward to seeing his work in the future.
Stocking Stuffers
Writer/Director: Angel Connell
Starring: Christy Scott-Cashman, Eric Scheiner
Running Time: 7:30
Grade: B
3.0 Stars
No, I'm not jumping the gun. "Stocking Stuffers" is not a holiday short film being reviewed in July. Rather, "Stocking Stuffers" is a two-chapter short film examining how an object of desire in ways that both enhance and subvert human values. In the case of "Stocking Stuffers," the object in question is a rather sexy leg of a rather sexy young woman draped in, you guessed it, hosiery.
Starring Eric Scheiner and Christy Scott-Cashman in both parts, "Stocking Stuffers" is the kind of film that you initially watch and go "Oh, hey. That was cute." Then, slowly, you begin to realize that writer/director Angel Connell has a lot more going on in "Stocking Stuffers" than one might believe.
In chapter one, titled "Consuming the Commodities of the Heart," Scheiner and Scott-Cashman appear as a young couple having obviously just finished a night on the town. Not surprisingly, the man in this scenario would like the evening to progress even further. While the female companion in this scenario isn't necessarily opposed, she'd like for him to make a bit of an effort to woo her.
Of course, she's wearing stockings and, yes, they are quite the turn on.
In the second chapter, the title's variation is "The Heartfelt Commodification of Consumption."
Same basic concept...or not.
This second chapter includes three short advertisements for a product called Sheek Stockings. The first two advertisements are, essentially, set-up for the closing advertisement's not so subtle closing.
Very few directors, especially in short films, can adequately construct an intelligent, well spoken and entertaining film successfully. While I'd argue that "Stocking Stuffers" feels a touch too short and could use some fleshing out, Connell has written and directed a short film of great clarity, intelligence and wit in which the film's underlying messages stay with you long after its closing credits have rolled.
Scheiner and Scott-Cashman both obviously connect with Connell's point, and their body language, vocal inflections and natural chemistry are employed nicely throughout the film's 7:30 run time.
Tech credits are solid across the board, notably Matthew Wagenknecht's nicely complementary camera work and the art and production design of Scott Kehs along with Perry Iannone's original score.
