In Wylie Anderson and Johnny Berchtold’s short film, Thanks for Having Me, we learn that you can never run from your past. At some point, you have to deal with your problems head-on.
Wesley (Johnny Berchtold) was once known online as the victim in his father’s YouTube prank video channel. Today, he struggles to navigate life outside the shadow of his childhood fame. To get a job, he tries to apply for a driver’s license, only to discover that without a birth certificate, the DMV won’t issue him a license. Defeated, he realizes the only person who can get it is the father (Breckin Meyer), whom he wants nothing to do with.
Back at his sister Carly’s house, where he’s staying temporarily, she gives him a birthday card from his father, who now wants to reconnect. He first rejects the offer because he doesn’t trust the father who exploited him for his YouTube channel, but is forced to accept, as this is the only way Wesley can get his birth certificate.
Breckin Meyer plays Wesley’s estranged father in Wylie Anderson and Johnny Berchtold’s short film Thanks for Having Me.
“Wesley was once known online as the victim in his father’s YouTube prank video channel.”
What I love about Thanks for Having Me is its delicate balance of comedy and tragedy. For Wesley to have to be in the presence of a person he lost trust in so long ago and who exploited him without a single cent of compensation, Johnny Berchtold’s script and Wylie Anderson’s direction capture every note of raw pathos perfectly.
Ultimately, the heart of the performance is that final scene between Berchtold and Breckin Meyer. In all the craziness that leads up to this point, their authenticity in the end is pitch-perfect. Thanks for Having Me is a solid story with a heartfelt payoff.
For more information about Thanks for Having Me, visit Wylie Anderson’s Instagram Page.
"…a solid story with a heartfelt payoff."
