imagineNATIVE 25 FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW! For a fascinating slant on what kind of dip will be at the party, check out the stripped-down giggle riot short Cherries, directed by Jaimee Poipoi from a script by Aroha Awarau. Somewhere in a New Zealand city, Steph (Ashleigh Waters) arrives at a nondescript building for a special event after night has fallen. Hot pink light spills out of the doorway when she enters, and soon she finds herself wearing a robe and walking down into a room where an orgy is taking place. She asks the cute Maori girl, Sarah (Tupe Lualua), who is sitting on the edge of the action, if she can sit next to her on the sofa. Sarah agrees and both of the shy women sit there in awe, making small talk while still deciding whether the water looks warm enough to jump in…
Cherries is the best short about an orgy out there that doesn’t need to be watched incognito on your phone. Awarau lays out a knockout funny concept, and Poipoi totally nails the look and timing. Several moments knock the house down, like when the actresses put on glasses to examine what is going on more closely.
“…soon she finds herself wearing a robe and walking down into a room where an orgy is taking place.”
Besides a crackling close-up of two hearty-looking sex toys, the entire orgy is kept offscreen, leaving everything up to the audience’s filthy imaginations. Awarau’s dialogue is spot on with how a pair of outsiders would pass the time when suddenly feet away from a compound group, patty-smacking.
Despite being a single joke set-up, Poipoi finds multiple avenues to explore inside the situation. Waters is a master at projecting the mousey aura that plays out the funniest in an orgy scene. Lualua’s deadpan reactions are timed as perfectly as the spellbinding tattoos she was sporting.
Cherries is going to be one of the event shorts of the year, as they will be lining up to give this short a spin.
Cherries screened at the imagineNATIVE 25 Film Festival.
"…several moments knock the house down..."
