Tater Tomater

Anyone with a sense of humor who has spent any amount of time growing up in the South would appreciate this short film.

The deadly boredom that reaches philosophical proportions and her desperation, as in despair, when she realizes on some level that this is all her life will ever be.

I don't know why this movie is so southern but it is.

The reason this short student film is on this database is that it is SO DAMN FUNNY! I saw this short over 10 years ago and I still get a little giggle in my chest thinking about it.

And, from a historical perspective, it shows the beginning of MacLachlan's mastery of southern character studies.

I'm coming to terms with the pulls in film that move an idea through production and onto screens. In fact, I revel in understanding what "sells" and what doesn't. Those economic forces meld with the others, cognitive, societal, stylistic, whatever, to make things what they are — what we see.

But certain situations elude me. Student films, for instance. Small projects that are for all intents student films.

I like these because sometimes they have clever ideas. Big films don't seem to have more ideas per film so when you are dealing with small ideas, small films are just more economical to survey. And it is fascinating to find a mature filmmaker and go back and see the scribbles made in cinematic childhood.

But for the life of me, I cannot figure out why some get on IMDb and some not. Recently I saw a great student film, one that I would recommend highly as a "real" short, by a Calum Ferguson. Good, No traction. You can't get it.

Now I see this. Sundance. TeeVee. And I wonder why.

This has no ideas, no skill, nothing to convey to me. It could have. The situation is one that had promise. And the young actress who is the hashslinger has that glue-damaged slur down well enough.

But no. No good.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.