At The Movie Buff, we love to give short films just as much attention as feature films and that’s why we’ll have multiple short film review round-ups. This is a review round-up of three short films playing at SXSW in the ‘Narrative Shorts Competition.’ Read on below for reviews of “Marvin’s Never Had Coffee Before,” “The Other Morgan” and “Squeegee.”
‘Marvin’s Never Had Coffee Before’
I had my first sip of coffee when I was nine years old. I did not like it, but what nine-year-old would? I don’t consider myself a coffee drinker and that’s why Andrew Carter’s “Marvin’s Never Had Coffee Before” caught my interest, as a short film about a man, Marvin (Charles Rogers), who tries coffee for the first time and starts talking obsessively about it.
I’ll say right away I thought this would be more of a film about him trying coffee and passionately talking about it to people and urging people to try it. That’s the sense I got from the brief synopsis. This short is not that; and what we get instead is a story where coffee is the interesting angle, as this is a sweet story about fitting in. Instead of wanting to talk about coffee obsessively, he thinks he must start drinking coffee because all his co-workers have their fancy mugs and espresso machines that they chat about on their daily Zoom meetings (the film, by the way, is a project shot during this pandemic).
Marvin is all kinds of awkward on these Zoom calls and that’s very relatable, especially when he makes a bad joke or tries to add to the conversation, and then he says it’s a bad connection when the group doesn’t laugh. Much of that is cringe comedy that works well, especially at the beginning of the short when Marvin drones on about how he has Starbucks all the time and then the title flashes.
The storyline is also used to portray the message of not needing to fit into societal norms, especially with one’s sexuality or individuality as we get LGBTQ+ representation in the film. Everyone drinks coffee but that doesn’t mean you must drink it, too. Just be yourself and drink what you want. Carter’s sentiment is nice here and Marvin is a likable character and this packs some chuckles. There’s nothing deep about this particular cup of coffee, either, but I think some might relate to this story or see themselves in it, as even the idea of trying to fit in and forcing yourself to like things to relate to your friends is a universal concept in itself. For that, it’s worth the look.
Grade: B-
‘The Other Morgan’
In a lovely little story about being happy with what you have, director, writer and star Alison Rich brings us the story of Morgan Yardley, an exterminator completely content with her life and her occupation. That is until an existential crisis she has when she meets “The Other Morgan.” It’s another person living in the same city who shares the same name of Morgan Yardley (this Morgan, is played by the delightful Mary Holland, also at this year’s festival in other ‘Narrative Shorts Competition’ film “Sisters”).
At only 13 minutes long, I won’t spoil who they are to each other and why they share the same name. That’s just no fun, but Rich’s idea for it is very amusing. I wasn’t sure if we were in for a doppelgänger story which can be so intense, but we’re treated to something that’s creative in its own right. Holland and Rich work so well together here as a pairing and it’s entertaining to watch this unfold, especially after the find out about each other.
Alison Rich’s Morgan is really fun to watch because she’s so likable, and I would totally watch this as a sitcom of some kind. The way they’re polar opposites—Holland’s Morgan is a veterinarian and Rich’s Morgan is an exterminator—is so brilliant and really has endless opportunities for comedy, all of which can’t quite be explored in 13 minutes—but Rich explores some. As well, the introduction of exterminator Morgan experiencing self-doubt because now she has an opposing Morgan to compare herself to is relatable on many levels, which all amounts to a super fun short.
Grade: B+
‘Squeegee’
I only had the chance to watch these three shorts out of the ‘Narrative Shorts Competition,’ but Morgan Krantz’ “Squeegee” was my favourite for its sheer boldness. You’ve heard of the Mile High Club; but “Squeegee” depicts a very unique Skyscraper Club as a CEO named Laurie (Amy Rutherford) waits patiently for the window washer (Blair McKenzie) to get to her floor. Once he arrives, they engage in one of the strangest things I’ve seen as they have what is described in the synopsis as an “erotic rendezvous on opposite sides of a skyscraper window.”
Window washing has never looked so daring, and what transpires here is so steamy it should be fogging up those windows. I was laughing throughout this because it is so ridiculous that it’s truly delightful. Surprisingly, as well, the chemistry the pair of performers share between the glass window is great. It’s so believable, too, that this could be either be their first rendezvous or one of dozens, as a pair of people who maintain their anonymity and just interact this way. The bit where they pantomime slapping each other is comedic genius, and all of this is just so funny because I’ve never seen anything like it.
If you were to find a serious side of this short, it could be the fact that this kind-of rendezvous feels perfectly timely as we socially distance or we see loved ones through windows. Evidently, you’re not going to be doing this through a window, but the sentiment remains the same. It’s consistently funny and it only gets better when the rope plays into the short visually in a creative way. It’s a hilarious moment and also shows the great filmmaking techniques on display here. “Squeegee” is truly great on all fronts. It’s all something that’s so voyeuristically brilliant that I’m sure Brian De Palma wishes he thought of it first.
Grade: A+
