One of the perils of improvised films is winding up with a production that starts in the middle of nowhere and ends up on the fringe of nowhere.
The absence of “somewhere” is evident in Zak Forsman’s improvised short “I F*****g Hate You.” This brief endeavor finds a guy trying to reconnect with his ex – he shows up at her new home (with her fiancé in residence) carrying a box of bric-a-brac left over from their expired relationship. He claims he is donating the stuff to a charity and wanted her to reclaim anything of sentimental value. Nothing in the box appeals to her, but she mentions a mug that she left behind and would like to retrieve.
Somewhat implausibly, he convinces her to come back to his place to get the mug. She finds it (hidden in a book case), and he then serenades her with a weird song supposedly about love (the title comes from that tune).
None of this is particularly effective – the guy is clearly a jerk and the gal is obviously not bright enough to permanently cut him from her (seemingly upscale) new life. John T. Woods and Marian Kerr are appealing actors, but they never give any depth to their roles (particularly Kerr, who spends most of the film looking at Woods in various degrees of disbelief).
Production values on this film are competent and director Zak Forsman creates a work that has a professional glow to it. Maybe next time he can whip up a script that allows his talents to shine fully.
