9/10
Better when you're sober
5 November 2000
Excellent short film detailing a final drinking binge for a college student. Kris Isaacson's use of black and white, a jazz soundtrack, and voiceover narration by the film's writer, Matt Gunn (who also stars), help present the film in a way that is both sad, amusing, and downright interesting. The narrator reacquaints himself with an old drinking "buddy" he doesn't really know well, except that this buddy loves to drink. A LOT. This begins the story, and we are drawn deeper into the narrator's world, as he attempts, WHILE DRUNK, to understand why he drinks. We laugh at seeing the narrator sitting in front of the television with several empty beer cans around him. We laugh at seeing him unsuccessfully coax two girls into a threesome. We laugh at his daydream about romancing a Jersey guy's cute girlfriend while the guy's in the restroom.

But we find his life pathetic as he walks around dazed, still collapsing into that little alleyway or corner. Should we feel sorry for him because he longs to be back with an old girlfriend? Or that he doesn't like waking up in a cold sweat, naked on his apartment floor? He longs to be sober, and hopefully he'll succeed. What I enjoyed about this film was its honesty. It cut through all the unnecessary nonsense and gave us a real account of a drinking binge. While it works well on a small level, the voiceover narration (even without any true dialogue) could carry a much longer picture.

If you ever get a copy of this short film, watch it sober. That way you'll remember it.
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