A pizza delivery guy becomes a glutton for punishment in Peter Vazquez’s comedy short, The Tip. Peter Vazquez is Arno, a guy who just wants to make some money delivering pizza. On this night, Arno arrives at a party at Tristan’s (Grant Sower) and Bianca’s (Yasemin Cem) apartment. Tristan decides to screw around with Arno with the help of his aggressive personality and penchant for screwing people over. Tristan is convinced that Arno wants to sleep with Bianca.
Over the next several days, Tristan orders more pizzas in hopes of demeaning and demoralizing Arno again and again. Is there a boiling point?
“…Tristan orders more pizzas in hopes of demeaning and demoralizing Arno…”
The Tip is a tale of escalation about how far you can push a person before they reach their breaking point. Peter Vazquez indeed builds that pressure in both story and performance. The best part is that we can relate. Tristan and Bianca stay even keel, but it’s the incremental tension that Vazquez portrays in Arno that makes the film.
The Tip is also another example of making a little go a long way. With the use of light and camera angles, you forget it’s merely an apartment door and three actors. Let’s also stress that shooting on film gives the story an authenticity that you can’t get from digital video.
The Tip delivers a perfectly timed pizza prank—fresh, cheesy, and with a hint of heat that builds until it’s just right. Peter Vazquez cranks the pressure, turning a simple doorstop delivery into a cringeworthy escalation. If you’ve ever been pushed to your limit and fantasized about what you’d really say or do, this short scratches that vengeful itch.
"…scratches that vengeful itch."
