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Validation More at IMDbPro »
| Index | 10 reviews in total |
26 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Everybody can learn a thing or two from this guy., 25 May 2008
Author:
Ted Gianopulos from Los Angeles, CA
I had the pleasure of seeing this gem at the Phoenix Film Festival and
I have to say that there are probably less then 1% of all short films
made have the ability to make the audience well up with tears of
happiness. That is precisely what this film did to me. Not only that.
Whenever I tell someone about it I get the sense of welling up again
just from re-telling it to them.
T.J. Thyne is perfectly cast as Hugh Newman, the uber-naive parking
booth guy who works at the end of a darkly lit hallway and validates
customers parking tickets while validating their lives at the same
time. Just like any protagonist in a movie, he hits his roadblock and
loses his mojo for a while but soon finds himself again, after he finds
life taking him in another direction and gets back on the trail of
making people's lives better. He finds out in the end that the good
deeds had been doing for people in the past, that he thought were not
changing anything or anybody, actually changed the lives of even the
most hardened hearts and in turn find him the complete happiness that
he had been searching for the whole time.
Kurt Kuenne did an AMAZING job with this film, period. From the
finger-snappy acapella soundtrack to the directing, editing and
cinematography; all of it is perfectly fit into this beautiful story. I
only wish I could buy this movie on DVD. I've told so many people about
it and wish I could show them! Hopefully soon!
21 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Fabulous Way to Spend 16+ Minutes!, 4 January 2009
Author:
petyank from United States
I've lost count of how many times I've been grateful for YouTube. Today
a friend sent me the link to this short and within seconds I knew it
was special.
Validation is truly a gem.
There are so many superlatives I could use about Kurt Kuenne's short.
The acting, direction, writing, etc., are all superb. But what really
stands out is the movie's heart and simplicity. The story (a parable,
really) is subtle, uplifting, inspirational--it even surprised me. And
after 50+ years of movie watching, I don't surprise easily. This is not
your typical Hollywood movie. It has a French feel to it; in fact, it
reminded me a bit of Amelie. It is uniquely American, though. I can't
wait to see more of Kuenne's work.
It's rare that I get a link I can forward to everyone on my email list.
You'll see what I mean. Don't miss this one--and pass it along!
(It's an hour since I saw it and I'm still smiling!)
19 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Thank You, "Validated" Is Amazing!, 8 January 2009
Author:
Drew A.G. Engman from Pinon Hills, CA
I can't add to the two superb previous comments about this short film.
I just watched it again, and yes, tears spilled from my eyes, tears of
complete overwhelming appreciation for this moral fable, this poem to
the positive in people, and to love.
I teach preschool age children with severe special needs, and seeing
this the first time had me by the heart, weeping profound tears of
gratitude. It helped me realize that a large part of what I do, and
have always loved to do for my kids and their family's is to simply
appreciate the greatness it takes to go through their lives, made
difficult from having unexpected horrors happen to their little
children. To put that into words sincerely spoken is very touching and
does indeed change people for the best.
I just forwarded the Flixxy link to another very large group of friends
who also work in special education.
Every superlative applies to the wonderful magic of this film.
10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Happiest Movie Ever, 23 April 2009
Author:
Oblivious93 from United States
Movies today seem to have difficulty making something happy. No matter
how hard they try, it almost always comes off as being fake. This is
where Validation comes in. A short film directed by Kurt Kuenne that
oozes joy. And not the fake kind. By the end of this 17 minute film I
was beaming. I was so happy that I immediately watched it a second time
just to make sure I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't. Then I began showing
it to every single person I could, and each one of them was smiling at
the end. In fact, I have yet to see one single person who did not care
for this movie, or did not feel great at the end of it.
The plot it simple, a man gives out free validation. Yes, the car kind.
But he also throws in a bit of the other validation, and brightens the
day of everyone he meets. Except as he is going out to get his drivers
license renewed, he sees a girl and instantly falls in love. The only
problem? She doesn't smile. I won't delve any deeper into the plot, but
rest assured, it ends well.
The movie is filmed in black and white for no other reason than that it
looks good. And after seeing the whole thing, you really couldn't
imagine it in color. The music, to put it simply, is genius. An upbeat
Gospel tune rings out throughout almost the entire movie, and every
time I hear it I want to dance. The actors of course do a great job,
overacted yes, but it's clearly on purpose.
Validation is a movie I believe everyone should see. It's funny,
charming, and at the end of it all, a piece of joy. Look it up and
watch it. I can guarantee you'll be glad you did.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Life is Beautiful and Smileful :-), 24 March 2012
Author:
manojharisree from Bangalore, India
One of the most beautiful short movies I've seen. How a smile lights up
the world is portrayed here in just 15 mins. I just enjoyed T J Thyne's
acting. And who wouldn't love to get themselves validated by such
characters in real life too? Although initially, you would think that
the person is a psycho, hehe...
Didn't mind the black & white camera-work throughout, it's done very
well, Of course the direction is impressive too. Maybe I noticed some
minor flaws in performances of the other actors but that's not a deal
at all.
The ending scenes almost wet my eyes when he realises why Victoria(good
show by Vicki Davis) finally smiles at him. And this is why I believe
that the good you do somehow, one day or the other, comes back &
showers on you bountifully.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A man gives out validation and also gives out free compliments while he is at it because he "loves to see people smile"., 14 September 2011
Author:
jen lewis from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I really enjoyed this short film, "validation". I thought that it was very unique, clever, and made the viewer fell happy afterwords. I liked how he was always so positive throughout the movie and had a good reason for what he was doing. I thought the needing was very cute too and came together nicely. i thought the main idea of the film was very interesting and the fact that they put in a person who would not smile at all but then later would which made him upset then even more happier was a good idea. Afterwards this short film left me feeling happy and excited for some reason and i would suggest it to anyone who likes feeling that way!
Kurt owed me this one, 21 September 2012
Author:
lvlv52 from United States
I know. It's MY LIFE that's real, not movies. Movies are just a shadow on the wall, and you can hit STOP any time you feel like it. But I'd somehow managed to befriend Kurt Kuenne after being wowed by his "Shuffle," and had to see the rest of his resume. Unfortunately (for ME, since I've been an emotional wreck for decades), next up was "Dear Zachary," BRILLIANT but WAY too disturbing for the likes of moi. That was a month ago, and I haven't slept right since. Kurt actually apologized. But HERE was the best of all possible apologies..."Validation" was, simply, the most life-affirming 16 minutes of celluloid I've ever encountered (and please believe me - the celluloid I've encountered could reach to Pluto from here). I won't relate its story - a 2-line synopsis can't do it justice - but I do feel the need to convey that this is 16 minutes with the power to HEAL. And you'll laugh while healing. And I think maybe my poor battered subconscious can be talked into letting go of that psychotic witch from 'Zachary' that had sunk her claws in DEEP. Thank you, Kurt. This slate is CLEAN.
3 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Doesn't Outstay Its Welcome, 15 July 2010
Author:
Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland
This short film revolves around parking attendant Hugh Newman who not
only gives people tickets but compliments that changes their whole
outlook on life . Within a short period of time Hugh has become
something of a celebrity but finds his life unfulfilled when he meets a
photographer who is incapable of smiling . What can he do to make her
smile just once ?
On paper there might have been great potential turning this short in to
a feature length movie but the more I thought about it the more I
started to realise quirky shorts probably don't make good features .
One the problems might have been the character Hugh himself and the way
he's played by TJ Thyne .Try and imagine a young Gene Wilder on ecstasy
and you have some idea of how irritating an initially happy clappy
character can quickly become
This probably sums up VALIDATION - it's length compliments its quirky
nature and feel good factor . It's well shot by director Kurt Kuenne
and is a feel good fable that comes to a stop just around about the
time when cynical embittered nihilists feel their patience might just
end
0 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Potential, Excitement, General Cuteness... wait, what happened?, 12 September 2011
Author:
katiew-158-314374 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This was an adorable story of a man validating parking tickets while brightening ordinary people's days. The reason? He just likes to make people smile. While at first this film is delightfully predictable, with all the expected puns, jokes, and sweet moments of joy, there emerges a creativity that I could not help but admire. This short film had loads of potential to end beautifully and leave viewers smiling with contentment. But it didn't fulfill what I had hoped. Instead of ending where I believe it should have (the man achieves fame and becomes loved by all, and there is world peace and unconditional love among all), the film takes a downward spiral by giving the main character a love interest. Still, though, I forgave this unseemly need for romance, as it still contained the chance to be cute, and it still fit with the rest of the film. However, unfortunately the film goes rapidly downhill as it turns away from the original plot line, and the main character becomes depressed, only to quickly wrap things up with a hasty and undeveloped happy ending (it was her mom?! Now where in the world did that come from??) It saddened me that such a wonderful little film was slightly marred by such a quick wrap-up, seeing as with a little more time and thought, the ending could have fit in perfectly with the rest of the film.
6 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A thin joke becomes a splashy (if low budget) black-and-white musical extravaganza, 8 September 2009
Author:
J. Spurlin from United States
A cheerful parking attendant considers it his job to do more than
validate parking. He wants to validate the customers themselves,
delivering compliments about their appearances and the inner qualities
behind them. Everyone who comes up to him with a ticket walks away
validated as a worthwhile human being. Soon, the parking attendant
becomes so popular that people line up for validation. He appears on
news broadcasts and even ends up validating George W. Bush and Saddam
Hussein. His life hits a roadblock when he goes to the DMV to get his
driver's license photo taken and is met with a beautiful photographer
whom he can't get to smile.
As with "Rent-a-Person" (2004), writer-director Kurt Kuenne takes a
thin joke and blows it up into a splashy (if low budget)
black-and-white musical extravaganza. In fact, the man with the camera
who makes a brief appearance in the earlier film, returns as the main
character in this one, which we don't realize until we see the scene in
which the two movies intersect.
This one is less extravagant, but I liked it a bit better - possibly
because the toilet humor is gone.
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