Short films are a good way to get your name out there if you are a director just trying to get your foot in the door in the large world of cinema. Writer-director Chris Brake takes a shot at it with just his second directing credit, which also happens to be his second short, Cactus Boy.
When Winston was a little boy, his mother left him a cactus to take care of. Well, not only did he take care of it, but he played with it and raised it all the way up to adulthood. As such, the man has an imaginary friend who is a cactus. In Winston’s adult life (Colin Ford), he’s found a job (you guessed it) at a cactus nursery where he cares for the desert-loving plants.
“…Winston is hit with the dilemma of keeping a lifelong imaginary friend in Cactus Man or pursuing a love life…”
One day while working, Winston meets his new co-worker, Clem (Georgie Flores), and the two quickly become friends. Their friendship grows as he develops a crush on her. Winston realizes that having an imaginary friend may not be ideal when trying to have a romantic relationship. So, Winston is hit with the dilemma of keeping a lifelong imaginary friend in Cactus Man or pursuing a love life with Clem.
Brake did a great job with this one. The idea of Cactus Boy is definitely outside of the box. This premise is something that is somewhat easier to do as a short rather than a full-length feature movie, but I don’t doubt that expanding this story is something that Brake could potentially do someday. Although Winston and Clem do not have much time on screen together, Ford and Flores have enough chemistry together that I definitely believe the two and see them as a couple. Thanks to the tone and how the subject matter’s handled, you can even buy the way the movie ends, which would be pretty far-fetched had this been in any other type of romance.
Cactus Boy is a cute and imaginative film that will stick with you.
"…cute and imaginative..."
