Seth (2015)

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Actor Zach Lasry steps behind the camera for this funny short film.

Seth (a very good Logan George) wakes up and resolves to complete all of his goals in one single day. With the urging of his stuffed animal friends, he does indeed eat more corn, and reads inspirational Michael Jordan quotes. He checks each item off the list, and celebrates with a party before being called out by a stuffed bunny named Christopher for one uncompleted goal- Seth didn't impress his stoic father (Emmett Smith). Dad is attuned to Seth's bizarre behavior, and tolerates it for the most part, admitting he doesn't think much of his obviously disturbed son. Seth sets out to complete his goal anyway.

Because the running time is just fifteen minutes, Lasry jumps into the madness, not giving the viewer a chance to breathe. George is hilarious, embracing the character with little benefit (to us) of a back story. Smith is also great, and he and George work well together. The humor is bizarre and fast-paced. We even get a musical montage while watching the preparation Seth goes through. Not everyone will think this kind of thing is funny, but it caught me on the right day and mood. On the technical side, the film is flawless. A clear picture, nice editing, perfect sound recording- all of it scores. I don't know if something like this could be expanded to a feature length idea (think "The Jerk" on acid), but the likable two-man cast is fun to watch. You could do worse than spare it a quarter hour.

Stats:
(2015) 15 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Written and Directed by Zach Lasry
-Cast: Logan George, Emmett Smith
(Not Rated)- Contains mild physical violence, some profanity, brief nudity, sexual references, strong adult situations