On the Lot

The best film of the night was a 30-second Mountain Dew commercial featuring a killer ferret brandishing a chainsaw.  Now, you may think such a statement is a slam against the remaining On the Lot filmmakers.  Really, it's not.  The Mountain Dew commercial was just spectacular.  We're down to six contestants now, and that means that two of the filmmakers from last week had to be eliminated.  In another one of the canned segments, Adrianna Costa cleavage-ly arrived in the filmmakers' patio to tell them who America liked least.  Mateen Kemet and Kenny Luby were then eliminated.

Those were probably the right decisions, although I do think Mateen has some talent.  Tonight, the remaining six filmmakers screened romantic comedies, which is a perfect short film genre.  The guest judge was director Brad Siberling, famous for his work on City of Angels and Moonlight Mile.


Director #1 – Zach Lipovsky - “The Bonus Feature”

This was a disappointing entry from Zach tonight.  It features a guy trying to impress a girl by showing off all the features his new car has.  One of the features, a DVD player, has magical qualities.  You see, every time you hit the play button, you are sent into an action scene from a famous movie.  They encounter Jurassic Park's T-Rex and are immersed in on of the Star Wars dogfights.  And, that's about it.  It's an homage film, but an empty one.  The judges like it all right.


Director #2 – Adam Stein - “Girl Trouble”

I'm for any romantic comedy that involves cross-dressing.  Two roommates discuss a one-night-stand.  The one-night-stand comes out of the bedroom and it's a dude with a wig on.  I won't ruin the rest (there's a twist!) but will admit that I chuckled a few times.  It's a bit of absurdist, silly humor and it worked well for me.  The judges were lukewarm over it. 


Director #3 – Will Bigham - “Unplugged”

This takes Spike Jonze's lonely lamp Ikea commercial one step further.  Two desk lamps are in love and have to overcome the cubicle barrier to reach one another.  It's a nice, silent film and has some heart.  It's a tough thing to pull off, bringing inanimate objects to life, and Will pulls it off seamlessly.  Nothing special, but harmless good fun. 


Director #4 – Andrew Hunt - “Keep Off Grass”

Good concept, bad execution.  A mild-mannered man who is tending to his perfectly manicured garden is interrupted by a fight between two superheroes.  They fight about superhero stuff and, in the process, destroy the garden.  The gardener witnesses the aftermath.  Film over.  It had potential, but Andrew didn't sell the destruction of the garden well enough, nor did he give the gardener much to work with.  The judges aren't big fans.


Director #5 – Sam Friedlander - “American Hoe”

I liked this film a whole lot more than the judges.  An engaged couple fight over the stamps the man bought for their wedding invitations.  He accidentally (but was it accidental?) bought the American farm collection of stamps, complete with a man milking a cow.  The dialogue was solid, but the story too small and negligible to really work.  The judges have harsh words for Sam.  He might be going home next week.


Director #6 – Jason Epperson - “Old Home Boyz”

The best film of the night.  When Jason sticks to comedy, he's golden.  This film takes place at a 50th high school reunion, set 50 years in the future, so all the old guys are wearing their hip/hop get-ups.  Our main character, hoodie on, sees his old crush across the room and has to compete in a dance-off with his rival for her affections.  Need I say more?  The pay-off is good and the film is shot incredibly well.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)