BUFF REVIEW: Teenage Waterpolo (Comedy Short Film Showcase)
The Boston Underground Film Festival has come roaring back to life with this collection of bizarre and strange comedy shorts. I love attending these presentations every year; you truly never know what you’re going to get. That’s what makes BUFF so special! I missed it so much. Let’s get to the pictures! I’m not really reviewing these, since they’re so short, but I do love to give shoutouts to creative works from regular people, not studios.
Tea Time dir. Tara Price
One little girl’s imagination runs violently wild. Perfect representation of BUFF’s whole deal. Crowd loved it!
Truck Dad dir. Tamir Rawlings & Bradley Wilkinson
A tale of one man’s truck dad who one day drove away, never to return. Animated with the same loving grossness of early Nickelodeon.
They Used to Call Me Crazy dir. Jim McDonough
An excellent animated short, based around a secret tape recording of a Boston father recalling his greatest escapades as a teenager. A real family-grown film! Highly recommended.
Bliss dir. Sarah Gold
Extremely ambitious coming-of-age story of a sock puppet (Jared Gilman) who never quite fit in. Felt more like the prologue to an extremely strange film than a short. Hopefully this ends up being the case!
Meat Friend dir. Izzy Lee
This is about Meat Friend. He’s made of meat. Like an Adult Swim infomercial you saw half-asleep between episodes of Futurama.
Johnny the Dime dir. Joseph Blake Menzel
Johnny takes being a protective sibling very seriously, and in doing so may have had a realization about himself. Made me wonder if the people behind the film read it the same way I do.
The Blood of the Dinosaurs dir. Joseph Badon
No idea what happened in this one, but I did appreciate the disorienting sights and sounds.
Take Him Down dir. Joe Raasch
A cool little experiment made with the Unreal Engine inside a PS5 or something! Neat!
Shitty Shitty Bang Bang dir. Kevin James, Neil Cicierega, Ryan Murphy
Can be easily, hilariously, summed up with the final acknowledgement: “No one wishes to take credit for this script.” I can’t believe how long I’ve been watching the creative exploits of Mr. Cicierega!
A Puff Before Dying dir. Michael Reich and Mike Pinkney
Marijuana kills – even marionettes!
Polybius dir. Alex Rouleau
Spooky and flashy – reminded me of the introduction for the Nightstream festival.
Toshie the Nihilist dir. Matthew Chozick
Akin to the works of Nobuhiko Obayashi (House, Labyrinth of Cinema), Chozick’s short is about a happy-go-lucky young woman named Toshie who works for a cryptocurrency company. She has a particularly eventful day, deciding to swim to Hawaii after an earthquake. Just delightful!
Part of the 2022 Boston Underground Film Festival – click here to follow our ongoing coverage!
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