Have you ever been convinced that owning a certain piece of furniture would change your entire life? Me, neither.
However, not everyone is so intelligent. A certain overly enthusiastic, would-be customer of a tony furniture store (Jason Nash) is a case in point. He’s convinced that a certain retro-futuristic, cylindrical chair will cause him to be adored by the woman of his dreams (whom he hasn’t met yet) and generally make him cool. Meanwhile, a put upon clerk (Mike Blieden) is caught between the impulse to make a quick sale and the ethical imperative to disabuse this poor bastard of his contemptible materialist notions and questionable sense of decor.
Sometimes the best comedy is that which is hardest to explain. I can’t tell you exactly why, but “The Ball Chair” is a solid giggle for most of its six minutes. Sharply written by star Jason Nash and skillfully shot in bold colors by director/cinematographer Ben Weinstein, the humor may be hard to describe, but it’s clearly driven by the first-rate chemistry of its performers. Jason Nash fully commits to his character, a dude with a capital “DU” who can barely contain his energy or manage his brain cells. For his part, Blieden is a skilled straight man, who’s dry, yet sincere, responses are pitch-perfect…and eerily similar to a certain decor-obsessed, mildly sarcastic friend of mine, who really did work in an upscale West Hollywood furniture store. Together, Nash and Blieden make a terrific comedy team. If we’re lucky, we’ll get to see more of both of them.
