Stars in Shorts certainly had a great premise. Take fairly
well-known actors and put them in short films. The trailer convinced me that I
wanted to see it.
Don't trust the trailer.
The Procession with Lily Tomlin and Jesse Tyler Ferguson was
everything I’d hoped it would be, as the two stars—mother and son—attend the
funeral of someone they don’t know well and end up in the funeral procession,
eventually leading the procession to they-don’t-know-where. Great premise, well
written, enjoyable acting. Playing at 12:26, it’s definitely worth seeing.
Watch for it to go viral.
Unfortunately then follows five films, often weakly written
and generally boringly directed. After School Special, intended to play off the
surprise punchline of a grade schooler, who is having sex with his teacher,
merely became offensive. I guess, the others, which are generally boring, are
worse.
I used to say that I would pay to see an actress like Meryl
Streep just reading a phone book. Five of the films felt like I had done the
same with Colin Firth, Keira Knightly, Jason Alexander, Val Pettiford, Julia
Stiles, Marin Ireland, Kenneth Branagh, and Wes Bentley. I quickly realized
that no matter how good the actor is, they need a script and director to work
with.
Even the great Judi Dench was better than the material she
was given in the last film, as an elderly lady learning to use social media to
connect with her boyfriend.
My advice: Don’t trust the trailer. As a friend of mine who works in movies said about another film, “That’s
two hours of my life I can never get back.”
Stars in Shorts (2012) *
Stars in Shorts (2012) *
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