HOLLYSHORTS 2020 FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW! It’s the proverbial “rock” and “hard place” in Zach Woods‘ short film David.
Will Ferrell plays a therapist, and on this inconvenient Saturday, he agrees to take an emergency appointment with his patient, David (William Jackson Harper). It’s an emergency because David has started making plans to end it all.
“With empathy and insight, he assures David he is there to listen.”
It’s a typical session for David’s therapist. With empathy and insight, he assures David he is there to listen. That is until a young boy bangs on the therapist’s window and yells, “You promised me that you would come.” The young boy is the therapist’s son, also named David, and he’s upset his father bailed on yet another one of his wrestling tournaments. The therapist is caught between being a good therapist and being a good father.
David plays out like a hilarious improv sketch. There are very few jokes, but the laughs come from the characters and their situation. “You’re lucky to be on the team,” the therapist dad tells his son. At the start, the therapist sides with saving his patient’s life over his son’s feelings, and boom, we’re off to the races.
Written by Brandon Gardner and directed by Zach Woods, David is a brilliantly constructed comedic sketch, and the results are what you expect from Ferrell and company.
David screened at the 2020 Hollyshort Film Festival.
"…the laughs come from the characters and their situation."
