Showbits

In sharp contrast to last week's colorful Flower Warfare, this week's Summer Short is a film whose humor and tone is not nearly as stark as its black-and-white imagery. But then, it's rather hard to take seriously a romantic musical comedy set in a men's bathroom. You'll soon be sold on Rent-a-Person:

Given that some of my favorite films are Office Space and Stranger than Fiction, it's no wonder I like this short: it's almost as if either of those were adapted to a musical. Despite that, there's not much to dissect here — Rent-a-Person is a silly, fun tale about how even nice guys don't have to sleep alone. There's some attempt at character evolution as our hero thinks he can substitute money for women (or use one to get another) before realizing his life is as empty as before. But even if that arc proves futile, it's encouraging to see him recognize his life's potential and find the motivation to actually do something about it. Too many people are satisfied with the mundane and subpar without taking advantage of their natural talents to realize the good fortune that could be theirs.

Coming next week: the exciting conclusion!

Just as Kungfu Bunny melded live action with animation, today's short crosses genres by having elements of both action and comedy — and, like Paintballing, it demonstrates a unique approach to violence. Enjoy Flower Warfare:

I enjoyed Flower Warfare not for the plot or the acting, both of which are paper-thin, but for the visuals and the exuberance. Being shot with flowers is apparently no less fatal (or surprising) in this short than in real life, but the bright colors and renewal of life make it seem so much less regrettable. That's not to say violence should be trivialized — but there's a big difference between how it's portrayed in Space Invaders and Mortal Kombat, for example, or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Saw.

A similar short uses armaments made of cardboard, but the militaristic approach to the short makes it far less fun. By contrast, the Flower Warfare actors are obviously enjoying themselves and don't get caught up in the dark, brooding, fatalistic nature usually involved in such territorial encounters. The closing double rainbow, though gratuitous, underscores this light-hearted atmosphere.

(Hat tip to Epic Win FTW)

Spoofing Star Wars never seems to go out of style. From RiffTrax to Robot Chicken to Family Guy, many artists have used this theme for more than just an independent one-off, making it a continuing commercial venture.

But few have the history or duration of Pink Five, which debuted as far back as 2002 with sequels appearing in 2004 and 2006. This independent fan series presents an alternative perspective on the events of the original Star Wars trilogy (episodes IV–VI). Paralleling the well-known tale of a rebellious young moisture farmer, the audience instead follows a dim-witted but obstinate Valley girl. It may sound annoying as all heck, but stick with it, as the writing is actually quite clever — her landing on Dagobah will have you laughing out loud. The character even proved popular enough to have a cameo in the official Star Wars expanded universe. The shorts' special effects are also inspired, their many subtle touches effectively inserting our heroine into George Lucas' universe.

The official versions of all four shorts don't load as quickly as your typical YouTube video so are included after the break.

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Most of Showbits' live-action summer shorts are either dark or funny. Few try to be either touching or poignant. Paper or Plastic makes that effort, but rather than run long and actually have a moral, it goes for an easy ending:

I was struck by this film at first, as it puts on the surface the "different" that we all feel inside. Being pretty is hard. Being in college is hard. Hell, being alive is hard. Many of us suffer in silence, but this story's protagonist can't hide what makes her different. Whether she's doing it as a courtesy to her friends (if any), or to protect herself, the concept of living life with a bag on one's head is both funny and sad.

The first few scenes made me wonder how the actress would convey emotion. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, LeVar Burton couldn't use his expressive eyes yet still managed the full range of sentiments. When Paper or Plastic's protagonist started magically changing bags when a real-life scenario would've afforded her no such opportunity, I felt a bit cheated.

The ending was also a letdown. Perhaps it would've been too cliché for the boy to have wooed her out from under her shell, revealing her to be the beautiful young woman she is. And though true love persists "in good times and in bad", I believe it should not simply prompt equilibrium within the couple, but also inspire each person to be his or her best. Is that the metaphor the title is suggesting?

I did enjoy the short's soundtrack — but the credits include none for the music, leaving me unsure where to find more of it.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this film, and it's supposed to be just a cute love story. What do you think?

Most of the films seen here this summer are either live-action or animated. Today, those two media merge in a comedic short that is the third and best in its series. Please enjoy Kungfu Bunny 3:

This cartoon's theme of turning one's loved one into a weapon is reminiscent of "Family Dog", the animated episode of the Steven Spielberg anthology series Amazing Stories, in which the family's efforts to turn their pet into a security system met with equally disastrous results. Won't dog owners, Elmer Fudd, and their ilk ever learn that sacrificing what's good in life to hurt another only ends up hurting oneself? But then, if they ever did learn that lesson, we bystanders would be poorer their wonderfully screwball antics. So maybe things are fine just the way they are.

Just as There She Is!! was a demonstration of Korean art, Kungfu Bunny 3 is Chinese in origin, though both films defy what foreigners might expect from that region's style. It's good to mix things up now and then and be reminded that not everything is anime.

Few actors and directors are talented at multiple genres. Michael Bay, for example, is known for directing explosive action films that lately have not been very good; conversely, James Cameron was as skilled at the character-driven science fiction of Terminator 2 as he was the sappy romance of Titanic.

For this reason and others, it is often effective for a person or team to choose a speciality to focus on and master, building a reputation for quality in their chosen field. But from a creative perspective, such dedication can be boring, and the temptation to flex one's artistic muscles is ever-present. Still, I never expected the creators of the ludicrously funny Star Wars satire series Chad Vader to investigate the horror genre, resulting in the excellent Life and Death of a Pumpkin:

This film won multiple awards at the Chicago Horror Film Festival in October 2006, a timeline that places the short's airing at around the same time Chad Vader made his own debut. I'm guessing Blame Society Productions, the team behind both shows, was at the time experimenting to find their niche and eventually settled on the comedic styles of the imperial day shift manager. But the above short demonstrates their talent at a diverse range of cinematic stylings. The macabre perspective, tremulous voice, and bittersweet climax remind me of another award-winning horror short, Unloved, which has also been featured here on Showbits. Among those qualities is the occasional effort at injecting Blame Society's trademark humor into the pumpkin's monologue, suggesting that the film is not meant to be taken seriously — yet it works whether you view it as as genuine and satirical horror.

Who are some of the actors or directors that you have found to be as effective as Blame Society at crossing genres?

Today's summer short is another classic, this one from 2004. It's about finding love not only where it's least expected, but also when it's least desired. Please enjoy There She Is!!

This video by SamBakZa (English translation) is the first in a five-part series. I personally prefer the plot and soundtrack of the second video, "Cake Dance":

This continuation of the first episode shows how quickly a relationship can develop. When a romance is new, its participants feel like they're engaged in something that's never been experienced by anyone alive. They unabashedly dedicate themselves to celebrating this new experience, and "Cake Dance" demonstrates that level of devotion that trumps all societal pressures and norms, and that taboos often become less stigmatic as love becomes more prevalent — all while being a good music video, too.

In that this animated world is populated by bunnies and kitties, it reminds me of Bill Holbrook's Kevin & Kell, supposedly the first ever Web comic about a wolf and a rabbit who meet through an online dating service. I followed the dead tree edition of the strip for some years, and though it effectively focused its humor at Internet geeks, the characters' backstories and plots eventually grew too convoluted for me.

What short videos have you found that celebrate love?

There are many ways for a film to be creative: plot, characters, presentation, and more. One variation we don't often see is in the medium itself. So far this year, the post popular media for the Summer Shorts films are CGI and live action. We don't often see puppets or classic animation, for example.

Paintballing is a short that could be classic animation but looks more like it was drawn in Microsoft Paint. That crude program is rarely a source of works of art, but this short is both novel and fun:

Choosing an art form that is thematically related to the plot was an inspired choice that is rarely possible with more traditional media. On the other hand, I've been playing too much Worms lately, so maybe I'm biased toward depictions of cute little things blowing each other up.