Is it fate that brings us together, or maybe something more ominous? A couple on their first date find their connection may be more than coincidence in writer/director Peter Faint’s short film, Blue Boy.
Kent (Daniel Jeffery) and Sheela (Sarah Bernstein) meet for the first time in front of the Kent Corporate Center building… because his name is Kent. Get it? Sheela is not impressed by the joke and thus starts a very awkward time for both of them. Our pair could not be more opposite, and as their date progresses, they become increasingly annoyed with one another.
It all changes with an incident involving craft beer and Sheela’s favorite Bud Light. For Kent, there’s an ominous cloud hanging over the date with the appearance of random matchbooks from the Blue Boy Motor Home and the final destination of the date at the Town & Country Bowling Alley.
“…changes with an incident involving craft beer and Sheela’s favorite Bud Light.”
Blue Boy is a supernatural, comedic melodrama (pulled from the press notes). It’s shot on film and boasts an intriguing and enjoyable soundtrack. My issue with the short movie is the connections it tries to make between the blind date and the mystery behind the Blue Boy painting and the Blue Boy Motor Home.
The problem I have with the film is without knowing the basic idea of the story, its meaning can be easily lost. The short opens with a close-up of a severely burnt hand lighting a cigarette, then later hanging out the window of a car and dropping a Blue Boy matchbook by Kent as he’s peeing on the side of the road.
The first question I have about Blue Boy is the significance of the burnt hand. Is it a man with a burnt hand, or is it something else? Then we move on to the date between Kent and Sheela. About 75% of the story passes before we return to the hand and matchbook. So my mind is telling me this is a story about a bad blind date, and the hand is long forgotten. As certain reveals are made, I found myself getting lost and not making the right connections. After a rewatch, I’m not sure I understand the story in the story any better. I felt like the story in Peter Faint’s mind did not fully realize itself in the final film.
"…a supernatural, comedic melodrama..."
