Little Black Boot (2004)

Director:

Colette Burson

Writer:

Cherien Dabis (writer)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

Goth-girl Cindy admires beautiful Laurie from afar, until the night when she dresses as a boy for the prom. Will this gender-bending Cinderella find true love when she leaves behind her little black boot?

Plot Keywords:

Goth Girl | High School Dance | Lesbian | Stepsister | Homosexual

Cast

Carmen Plumb	...	Cindy
Dania Ramirez	...	Laurie Rodriguez
Jane Lynch	...	Grace
Anthony Woods	...	Justin (as J. Anthony Woods)
Amanda MacDonald	...	Victoria
Sara Barrett	...	Samantha
Jodie Weiss	...	Laurie's Friend #1
Luz Beato	...	Laurie's friend in school yard
Emily Mazur	...	Laurie's Friend #2
Tom Donahoe	...	Josh Hanson
Alison Sudol	...	Singer (as Alison Monro)
Mike Hedge	...	Guitarist
John Ireland	...	Teacher
Shawna Riggio	...	Becky
Peter Hoover	...	Guy #3, Josh's friend

Runtime:

16 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Power Up Films

Quotes:

[Laurie is dancing romantically with Cindy, unaware that she's a girl]
Laurie: So, why haven't I seen you around?
Cindy: Maybe you haven't been looking in the right places.
Laurie: Do you go out with anybody?
Cindy: Ah... no.
Laurie: Where do you go to school?
Cindy: [changing the subject] Tell me three things you like.
Laurie: I like public radio. And I like Nicole Kidman. And I like stealing my parents car keys and just driving around at two in the morning. And... you. That's four things.

Real, honest emotion with a twist on the familiar tale

Sticking with the fairy-tale theme of her other film ("Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother"), this is the first short film written by upcoming lesbian director-writer Cherien Dabis.

Directed by Collete Burson and based on the Cinderella story, Carmen Plumb is our heroine -- an angst-ridden high school teenager deep into the Goth look. She pines for the beautiful, radiant Laurie (played wonderfully by Dania Ramirez ["She Hate Me," "Fat Albert"]). But her evil step-mother (played with gleeful evil by Jane Lynch) and horrid older step-sisters pour venom on her. Only the help of a literal fairy -- her gay friend, Justin -- can help transform Cindy into a gender-bending drag king who can crash the prom.

But when Laurie and Cindy connect on the dance floor, it's love at first sight. The high-heels and workman's boots come off to make dancing easier...until Cindy has to rush home at midnight. Will Laurie find out who the "little black boot" belongs to? Is the Pope Catholic?

Plumb is simply wonderful as the despairing but not desperate Cindy who stays true to her self despite the odds. There is real emotion running just beneath those chubby cheeks and behind those brown eyes.

Dania Ramirez is just as wonderful as the blatino prom queen. Her role could have so easily been harsh, preachy and cold in the hands of another actress. But Ramirez makes Laurie into a real person. There's a power, a rawness, a real desperation to escape the fickle embraces of the jocks and my-trophy-wife wanna-be's. Laurie's desperate need for real love is palpable. The film manages to finesse its way past a conundrum of an ending, which is even more satisfying.

While the plot may not be the most inventive, this film is a superb wonder. It really is the best of the fest.