Sylvia (Katrina Simyab) is something of a bridezilla on her wedding day, unbeknownst of the fact that her husband-to-be (Jarrod Crooks) and his wedding party have misplaced the ring. Time ticks down as the men race to find the ring, or a replacement, before Sylvia finds out and the wedding is ruined. It’s a task with many challenges, including the groom’s brother-in-law-to-be, a beef-stick obsessed slob (Dale Mitchell) whose very presence is upsetting to everyone else.
Conceived as part of the 2013 48 Hour Film Project of Madison, Wisconsin, Greg Kuper and Jarrod Crooks’ short film, For Better Or For Worse, shows many of the elements that one would expect from a 48 hour production. The narrative tends to be simple and to the point, and very rarely do the films linger in their pacing; there’s just not enough time to make something large and unwieldy.
The limitations of the competition thus become a positive in many ways, if the filmmakers know how to utilize these self-imposed conditions. In this case, while the narrative is indeed simple and obvious, the film still manages to work in some fun twists and turns, and generally has an enjoyable tone. It’s not going to reshape the way we thinking about short filmmaking, but it isn’t a bad endeavor either; I’ve seen filmmakers with far more time and resources make films much worse than this.
Sure, the edit could be a tightened a bit here or there, but it’s more a case of polishing and massaging the piece than making massive changes to the edit. It’s a short film that stays short for its simple premise, and doesn’t linger once the joke has played itself out. Thus it is properly balanced and executed. Again, it’s not going to change anyone’s life or astound an audience, but it’s still a more than competent bit of short filmmaking.
This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you’d like us to see, and we aren’t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.
