Curiosity

Director James Sunshine and writer Tasha Hardy’s short film, Curiosity, shows us that we all want to make a name for ourselves deep down. Beyond that, we wish to impact the world in some positive way or, at minimum, be seen. Bob Clendenin plays Bob, a mailman on a mission. Bored with living the day-to-day grind of delivering letters, parcels, and packages, he uses his powers of observation and deduction skills to root through people’s mail to uncover possible crimes or people in distress. One day he may actually uncover something.

Unnoticed by the world, Bob looks longingly across the street at his neighbor Holly (Kirsten Gronfield). Almost certain she knows who he is, Bob feels a deep connection with Holly. They read the same comic from the newspapers, yet Bob seems almost oblivious to her line of work as a regular stream of men come to her house for a good time.

“… to root through people’s mail to uncover possible crimes or people in distress.”

Unfortunately, Bob is in trouble with his supervisor Dustin (Eddie Steeples) for stealing mail. When Dustin calls, Bob says he’s only doing it for research purposes, and just as he hangs up, Bob witnesses Holly get into a verbal altercation with one of her clients, Peter (Joseph D. Reitman). When Peter sees Bob with his cell phone, he forces Holly into his car and drives away. For once, Bob is ready to take a stand and rescue his true love.

Curiosity is a story for the lonely and the invisible. As Bob, Clendenin has almost made a career of this archetype and finally unleashes his inner hero. Though not a joke-heavy comedy, the laughs come from Bob’s odd perspective on the world and his deep-seated desire to matter in this world as a force of good. Steeples is perfect as that slap of reality.

Curiosity is a heartfelt and somewhat inspiring story of doing good in this world, even though we might just sometimes get carried away with it.

For screening information, visit the Curiosity official website.