Diane might be able to forgive husband Ronnie for his odd taste in fashion, but when it comes to lipstick stains throughout their home, that’s another story.
Michael Sarrow’s This Is Lipstick! is a short film that begins on a very comedic path, and then struggles to maintain momentum. The result is that the movie stutters, and then flounders to such a degree that it seems far longer than its 7-minute duration.
I think that the narrative concept of the movie is a great one, and much of its dialogue is strong. And that’s precisely what makes This Is Lipstick! feel strangely tragic, rather than darkly comic, in keeping with the filmmaker’s presumed intent.
Who or what’s to blame when a film does not succeed as well as it could? It’s very hard to say, but it’s my guess that a variety of things work against each other. In this instance, This Is Lipstick!‘s strongly character-driven narrative is encased in too short a running time. This leads to acting that feels too contrived.
As always, the appreciation of any art form is strictly subjective, and this is only one critical opinion.
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