Lily and Jim

This is Don Hertzfeldt's third film, and arguably his best. This 13 minute film has as much heart as Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" with the sadistic edge of "Billy's Balloon," the followup to "Lily and Jim" played at the Spike and Mike Twisted Animation festival this past year.

A brilliant, brilliant film.

I saw this short recently and thought it was great - both poignant and funny. And the part where they turn on the TV was actually so funny that I laughed out loud sitting alone. I thought, why haven't I heard of this Hertzfeldt guy before, he's great. Turns out I had, but had forgotten. I'd seen both Rejected and Genre and thought, meh - I see what he's trying to do but the humor is too juvenile and too obvious. Kinda like South Park, or most of Cartoon Swim.

So, I think Lily and Jim is brilliant. And the violence and mayhem in the TV scene is just perfect. It works as parody there, funny and to the point. The violence and randomness in his other shorts doesn't work for me. Just making something weird and/or overly violent doesn't cut it.

For weirdness (even gross and violent stuff) that actually works because there's something behind it, see Wonder Showzen or Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job.

Put two dreadfully shy people (throw in low self-esteem) on a blind date and you have this great little animated feature. Each of the figures is trying to dredge up something to say and be honest at the same time. The problem is that something one says triggers a strange response. Nerves abound and they try, but can't connect. The girl makes a comment about her parents being incinerated. Do you think that could lead to a question or a comment? He doesn't even ask how that happened. This is a tightly produced little film that we all can relate to, even if it makes us crawl.

I confess to not having seen a whole lot of Don Hertzfeldt's work (although I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've seen) but "Lily and Jim" is his most mature work so far. Nothing big, just the nervousness of two people on a blind date. And it's brought to life by grade-school artwork (except for the precision mouth synching, which show a talented hand at work). But it's the dialog that really makes this tick; the self-imposed barriers and flimsy excuses we erect to explain away a failed relationship . Not to mention the forced small talk. This is very true-to-life and it's a delight.

7/10

I saw this short as a part of the Spike and Mike Festival of Animation and it *completely* stole the show. Basically it's about two people -- who are obviously perfect for one another -- on the ultimate Blind Date from Hell, where things rapidly go from awkward to horrible to worse. I wish I dared to write down some of the absolutely hysterical dialogue, but that would be spoiling the fun for others. This is a brilliant, very twisted gem of a short film, and made me an instant fan of Don Hertzfeldt, the animator. See it and you'll become one too.