Mr. Stache

How often do you find people who see movies just for the narrator? As rare as that may be, the act of doing just that isn't so original. In this case it's for that delightful brunette Kali Rocha, best known as of this writing for playing the matriarch of the Rooney family on "Liv and Maddie," especially by the tween set.

Judging by the narration, this under 10 minute movie looks more like a pitch reel for studio heads than anything else. The narrator tells the tale of a man (Richard Sommer) who wanted to grow the perfect mustache throughout his life, but once he finally does so, doesn't exactly get the social acceptance he was looking for. When his old friends reject him over it, he tries to get new friends, and they all snub him for their own reasons. Then just as he's about to throw in the towel and shave it off, he meets a girl who likes him for it, played by Amy Smart. They fall in love and get married, but things don't work out as well as the man hoped, and the reasons why play an important role in the movie, which I won't spoil.

Rocha claims at various points in the film that it's a very serious and dramatic story, which couldn't be further from the truth. But honestly, anyone who sees movies like this would never be bothered by such a lie. It would be easier to believe that "Take the Money and Run" and "Zelig" were real documentaries.

The story was pitched to the Tribeca Film Festival by somebody named John Nash, written, directed and co-produced by Jac Schaeffer, and sprinkled like sugar all over YouTube. Almost as unorthodox as it is sweet, and not to be missed.

This movie is going to be about a man who grows a mustache but nobody likes his mustache and people hate him because of his mustache and all his friends leave him and it is a very serious drama about a man and his mustache.

As the opening line of the film suggests, this little film is going to be nothing close to being a serious drama but rather is a knowingly presented little short which is quite light and fun for the most part. A man grows a mustache and begins a story about acceptance and being true to one's self; as such it is amusing and the device of the mustache makes it a bit unusual. This feeling is helped mainly by the narration, which is quite funny and well delivered by Kali Rocha. The musical background is not really a problem, but it hints at the problem with the film – which is that it is ultimately all a bit light and pleased with its own sense of lightness. It doesn't really help that everything about it is so polished – from the high production values, the slick narration, the presence of well known actors, and so on. Because of this I can understand why some may dislike the film – because the tone really is on the edge of knowing smugness so it could easily go either way depending on the individual or what sort of day you are having.

For me personally it just about manages to stay on the right side of it, being quite precious without ever really tipping over into being annoying or too full of its own charm and wit. A finely walked line at times, but mostly it is light and enjoyable.