BTurtle

Set largely within the confined space of the men's bathroom of a New York strip club, FROM THE HEAD is an original and "outside the box" (outside the 'john'?) exercise in character study and personal introspection.

George Griffith - who also wrote and directed - plays Shoes, the bathroom attendant (aka, the guy with the gum, the smokes, the jokes, the cologne, and in this case a yo-yo and signature Cab Calloway-esque wing-tips) at the club. Despite the film being more dialogue driven, Shoes is economical with his words when bantering with the bathroom "clientelle". With each new patron, Shoes says enough without saying too much to coax out some of their story or to share some of his. His is a story of career discontent. The money may be good, but is he wasting his time, his true potential... wasting his life away? The endless stream of characters who enter and exit the restroom range from "I know someone EXACTLY like that guy!" to "I can't believe someone like that could actually exist" and their stories provide compelling vignettes in and of themselves. They all weave in and out seamlessly avoiding a rote set- up/punchline repetition. And though each character has his own performance, it is Shoes who is the charismatic ringleader keeping the circus connected. Equal parts ball-breaker, philosopher, and self-analyzing everyman, Shoes is an easy character to root for, even though you never want him to leave the restroom!