Name: 26 Candles
Genre: Short, Comedy
Released: 2017-06-28
Duration: 5 min
Cast: Hanna Berkompas, Nina Blair, Jennifer Blakeslee

Noting "Comedy" as its genre category in the database, this would-be satire of showbiz casting (and many other issues) fails miserably due to exaggeration. Even the editing is overdone, signalled from the very beginning as a simple set-up scene between heroine and co-writer Hanna Dickinson and her best friend Kristen Laffey (who also directed and co-wrote) is broken up into reverse shots, cut in such a rat-a-tat-tat fashion as to be utterly distracting.

The main themes, billboarded broadly are: craze to be young (not only for self-esteem but in this case work opportunities); self-image (in the horror movie shots of heroine looking old and/ot a victim of makeup effects); sexism and of course the Hollywood cattle-call auditioning process. The filmmakers take the most extreme approach to all of these, and that plus the truly awful ending (a crucial element in a short-short (5 minutes duration) movie), sink the entire enterprise.

Is it funny to laugh at Hanna's self-delusion? No. Is it edifying to take real-life serious issues and treat them in Mad Magazine fashion? No, but it's a good way to elicit groans from a captive audience.

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.

Will Ferrell, Angela Grillo, and Lap-Gei Cheung in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

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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Kristen Laffey and Hanna Dickinson in 26 Candles (2017)

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26 Candles

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