Realness with a Twist
Cass Virdee
2024, 12 mins.
Making your best pitch
From fighting with your teammates to cooling down and, seemingly, ignore those around you, then clubbing (with a side order of self invitation to the dance and bringing those sudden moves into the dressing room and onto the field), Leslie’s (Karteer Miyake Mugler) transformation is a thing to behold: stitch in figurative time or not. JWR
Stud Country
Lina Abascal, Alexandra Kern
2024, 11 mins.
Invitation to the lavender dance
In this truly pathetic era of MAGA intolerance of anything but themselves (if only they knew what that means) and a rogue Supreme Court demonstrably getting in the way of timely justice for all, how wonderful to step onto the dance floor and—gay, straight, trans, curious or bi—experience the joy of moving as one in a line dance emporium.
It’s especially heartwarming to see the seniors amongst us saddle up with much younger partners and teach the magnificent feeling of “flow state” alongside truly, honestly shared experiences.
From its roots in LA (starting in 1969, Oil Can Harry’s) to present-day Bahia Night Club (alas soon to be demolished to make way for the wants of greedy developers), we can only hope that one right-thinking (nut-leaning) billionaire will establish a new venue and then, perhaps, him or her will take a turn around the floor for all to admire. JWR
I Need It Yesterday
Jack De Sena, Chris W. Smith
2024, 11 mins.
A timeless tale for the ages (or perhaps the day before the ages)
Here’s a sci-fi comedy that manages to poke fun at a tyrannical boss (“I need it [report] yesterday”), convincingly rendered by James Babson—who means every word.
Fearing for their jobs, his two subalterns (De Sena and Smith) find a literal solution to their dilemma from a far-advanced professor specializing in time (then and now).
From there, it’s all hands-on silliness, ending up in Switzerland where there’s enough power to make the far-fetched solution work.
Enjoy the laughs before the inevitable time-out kicks in. JWR
Speed Queen 51
Sarah Nocquet
2024, 15 mins.
I’ll tell if you’ll tell
A young man (Rory Culkin) and a young woman (Jane Parnell) meet by accident in one of the few laundromats in NYC that doesn’t have cameras (all the better to wash your smelly sneakers without penalty…).
We soon discover that she is leaving the US to work in a Peace Corp-like organization and, hopefully, find her meaning in life which, so far, has evaded her in the land of the free.
Realizing this encounter is sure to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, they opt to tell each other something they’ve never shared with anyone before (and, of course, keep everything said to themselves). Her revelation is more or less a typical complaint; his is much, much deeper. It’s so deep that unwatched action is required and probably no need for the rinse cycle.
See for yourself and then contemplate the possible consequences of sharing any secrets of your own. JWR
À Toi les Orielles
Alexandre Isabelle
2024, 13 mins.
Playing by ear
This is a most inventive film that music lovers will squirm at in the early going (anchored by fiddle music accompanied by feet rhythms that are very much untogether, even as the neglected bow horse hair flies madly in all directions).
But underneath it all is a family whose members have varying degrees of takes on reality, stubbornness and certain ways of doing things. Like the Pied Piper, the musical troupe courageously led by Étienne (convincingly played by Jean François Berthiaume), once finally included in the small town’s parade float, coalesces into one—just as most relatives do when put under the spotlight. JWR