Not since Jonathan Harris minced his way through “Lost in Space” has intergalactic travel received such a high-camp volley as in this amusing short film.
But why should I knock myself out trying to describe the antics here? Director/writer/star Brina says it best in the film’s promotional tagline: “Transsexuals troublemakers from planet Transmotivia are traveling through space; being pushy, prissy and pugnacious to everyone they meet.”
Indeed, this endeavor recalls the glory days of 1950s’ Grade Z sci-fi, with toy rockets and cheapjack sets used to depict the journey across the stars; the film’s grimy, grainy monochrome look recalls a third-generation bootleg dupe, another appropriate touch for sending up the genre. There is a great deal of comedy harvested at the aliens’ odd impressions of Earth culture (a vinyl LP is mistaken for an oversized cookie, a photo of J. Edgar Hoover generates shudders), while a none-too-efficient assistant named Clumsettia constantly disrupts operations with her bumbling.
There is certainly plenty of potential comic material to be mined from this concept, and filmmaker Brina has expressed plans to expand this into a feature. Let’s hope that the gods of crowdsourcing will come to Brina’s aide, because this is the rare short that leaves the viewer wildly hungry for more fun.
Thank you for the kind review. The FEATURE-LENGTH version debuts in Summer 20121.