The Act

Beautiful and poignant, this is a short that evokes the power of the great short stories of O Henry. If you get a chance to view it, be prepared for a stab into the heart of the truth of love and the need for all of us to laugh at the essence of our very existence. The lead, Rosy, is performed with incision followed by the evocation of loneliness, and closes with beauty and sweetness. As someone who has practiced the craft of stand up long ago, this reviewer can attest that Debra Jo Rupp's creation of the tough female comic is true but truer is the fact that so many people with quick wit holding a microphone often belies the sadness or anger or grief within. Not a short to be missed!

Just saw this film in Sedona International Film Festival. It proves a great idea can be communicated effectively and efficiently if deft creativity is involved. This is a perfect film to screen for film classes (particularly beginning ones) to demonstrate the power of cinema when vision is complete and sure. Don't know where it is available, but see it! - - - - OK they want me to say more, which is just the point of this film, you don't NEED to say a lot to get what needs to be said, said. In fact one of the points of the film is that what we say is not always what we mean and/or that we all become actors in the theatre of surviving life in order not to become victims of our fated existences. It is much like the fact that our brains are more active when we are asleep than awake so is our awake life only an exercise to let our brains rest? We need to eat, drink, rid ourselves of waste to get ready to work as our bodies tire and we enter repose and begin the real purpose of our existence.

What a wonderful slice of a life that is made lively and believable by Debra Jo Rupp! This is a short film that took my breath away, and one that I recommend highly to everyone with a conscience, strong compassion, and a real life. Debra Jo Rupp plays the lead character, Rosy Marconi, with such a real sense of her character that you would think we were watching her life through her window without her knowledge, and that her name has been changed to Rosy Marconi in a vain attempt to protect her privacy. The title of this film has a true resonance and depth of meaning that makes this story all the more powerful. The music is wonderfully subtle and adds to the strength of the story.

I would love to own this short film on DVD.