There’s not a whole lot wrong with a film that makes you laugh and “Trouble Man” will do just that. The premise of the film is very simple, a couple of high rollin’ gangster dudes drive around town in an attempt to take one of their ladies home. A couple of funny anecdotes provide some good laughs and that’s about it. But it’s the post production job on this shot on digital video short that pumps up the entertainment value, providing it with it’s true luster.
“Trouble Man” is made to look like a silent film from the 20’s. The actors are wearing modern clothes, surrounded by a modern world, but the video has been turned black and white and film looked with scratches and blemishes. Most interesting though is the way that the dialogue has been handled. When anyone speaks, their voices are either slowed down to a creepy warble or sped up and ran backwards to mimic the sound of a chipmunk frying on acid. In either case, the dialogue is pretty unintelligible, but whenever necessary, a dialogue card flashes on screen to let us know what’s been said even though the actors do a good enough job in projecting themselves that you’d know what was going on anyways.
Funny stuff. This is the kind of film you hope to see at a film festival.
“Trouble Man” can be found on “The Best of the Acapulco Black Film Festival Short Film Collection” DVD.
