Good Morning

It's 7am and a man wakes up full of the joys of spring - not! He turns on the radio to hear some bad news about a bomb on a plane; terrible floods; psychotic killings; havoc on the stock exchange; government paralysis - yep, he just turns it off and heads to the fridge. Maybe solace from an omelette? Well not if the egg is on the linoleum, no! Maybe it's something to do with his horrendous polka dot boxers? Toast? Surely that can't go wrong... ? Radio back on and more doom and gloom from Vietnam. The most anaemic of toast pops out but it'll have to do before a glance in the mirror does nothing to cheer him. Now hastily shaved and covered in blotting tissues, he dresses for the day and more radio - is this man just a sucker for punishment? What about the weather... This is quite darkly amusing for a few minutes but then it sort of sinks under the weight of it's own melancholy and becomes a bit over-done. Still, if it had been me I'd have just gone back to bed for the rest of my life. At least he left his apartment!

Ken Greenwald's Oscar nominated short film "Good Morning" blends humor, reality and drama as it tells the events that happens in an ordinary man's life (played by Vern Rowe). Waking up to face a brand new day with positivity and with good things happening isn't a possible reality, and in the already turbulent early 1970's with crisis going on in America and around the world, the man on the radio doesn't help with an almost jolly presentation of countless bad news, which easily kills the common man's smile, and it's all downhill from here as the man deals with apprarently simple daily tasks that all go wrong.

There's plenty of funny things in it, but seeing the overall mood of it all is what makes me look at it in a sad, disturbed manner as it's such a series of plausible situations happening, a reality in the 1970's and a wider perception of such reality in the decades to come, that it's impossible to not feel sympathy for the main character. But, to the ones who can see the bright side of everything, it's a delicious comedy, well-acted, well-written and well-directed. And I like to think every single being on Earth can feel something with it. 9/10.

I saw this short film in1973. It was a comedic Look at Los Angeles life during Vietnam. I can't remember the details but my overall reaction was that it was "roll on the floor funny." It did reflect 1971 quite well. I would buy a copy if it were available on DVD.

It did not win an Oscar that year. I did not see all the competition for that year but this one sticks in my mind as worthy of one.

Ken Greenwald is a very talented young man. I also recall him as an actor in a car rotary engine commercial. Regretfully,, he did not produce another film until about 2006.

Dan Murray