Name: Failure
Genre: Documentary, Short, Comedy
Released: 2004-04-02
Duration: 30 min
Rating: 6.9
Cast: Harry Applegate, Ryan Burger, Uv the Dog

Very Good, but it could have been Great with Better Editing

I've seen this short film on IFC a couple of times.

Chris Suchorsky, amateur filmmaker and self-proclaimed "dumbass", attempts to make a shoestring budget feature film which turns into a comedy of errors. Three years after shooting, he reads an article about the film "Lost in La Mancha" and decides to finally abandon editing his original film and to make this short film about his failure to make the original film.

The first six minutes of the film and the last four minutes of the film are very interesting, insightful and funny. This includes the clever opening credits, his statement of failure, and his amusing biography on the front end, and includes his sporadic editing of his original film, his "genius" decision to "turn crap into gold" by making this film, and the very funny closing credits on the back end.

The middle 20 minutes of the film details all that went wrong on a day by day account of the six day shooting schedule. The problems include renting equipment that he doesn't know how to use, getting drunk one night and leaving the equipment at a friend's house (who happens to be out of town the next day), having no crew, actors/actresses who don't keep their scheduled shooting commitments, and many others. But the biggest single problem was attempting to use his "idiot friends" as actors, and invariably ending up with footage of them drinking beer, goofing off in front of the camera and cracking up every time they try to deliver a line.

The only problem I had with this otherwise fine short film was the editing of the middle 20 minutes. The day by day account got a bit tedious, especially when we started seeing the same stuff over and over. There were way too many clips of his annoying "idiot friends" cutting up in front of the camera, and it quickly became painful and lasted long after we got the point. It was like watching stoners who crack up and giggle at everything... even though nothing funny is happening. And then, there were repeats of the same stuff. I'm mean... c'mon... how many times do we need to see the footage of UV the dog humping a blanket, or that one guy squeal "You had sex with my momma!".

Overall... a very good 30 minute short film, but with some better editing, it could have been an excellent 20-22 minute short film. And read the small print closing credits carefully... some funny stuff there.

The comedy genre refers to a category of entertainment that aims to amuse and entertain audiences by using humor, wit, and comedic situations. Comedies are created with the primary intention of eliciting laughter and providing lighthearted enjoyment. They encompass a wide range of styles, tones, and themes, appealing to various tastes and audiences.

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The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

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The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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Failure

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