Lily and Jim

I have recently seen this hilarious short film with the family on DVD and everyone was in 'stitches' The DVD has a number of great short films and is called "SHORT Issue 4 : Seduction" I love short films and this must go into my top 10.

I confess to not having seen a whole lot of Don Hertzfeldt's work (although I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've seen) but "Lily and Jim" is his most mature work so far. Nothing big, just the nervousness of two people on a blind date. And it's brought to life by grade-school artwork (except for the precision mouth synching, which show a talented hand at work). But it's the dialog that really makes this tick; the self-imposed barriers and flimsy excuses we erect to explain away a failed relationship . Not to mention the forced small talk. This is very true-to-life and it's a delight.

7/10

I saw this short recently and thought it was great - both poignant and funny. And the part where they turn on the TV was actually so funny that I laughed out loud sitting alone. I thought, why haven't I heard of this Hertzfeldt guy before, he's great. Turns out I had, but had forgotten. I'd seen both Rejected and Genre and thought, meh - I see what he's trying to do but the humor is too juvenile and too obvious. Kinda like South Park, or most of Cartoon Swim.

So, I think Lily and Jim is brilliant. And the violence and mayhem in the TV scene is just perfect. It works as parody there, funny and to the point. The violence and randomness in his other shorts doesn't work for me. Just making something weird and/or overly violent doesn't cut it.

For weirdness (even gross and violent stuff) that actually works because there's something behind it, see Wonder Showzen or Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job.

Although clearly a reference to Woody Allen (and more precisely "Annie Hall"), this fantastic short film reminds me very much of Todd Solondz's "Happiness" (though it was made earlier), in the way that *incredibly* awkward and uncomfortable situations are drawn out and out, and the scenes never allowed to end gracefully to save the characters from their shame and misery, but instead go on and on and keep getting worse. Sometimes it's almost unbearable to watch! (Which is even more credit to Hertzfeldt and the voice actors, since we are only watching the artist's trademark stick figures!). I laughed my head off with this gem. Hertzfeldt never lets me down, he's a genius!!

Put two dreadfully shy people (throw in low self-esteem) on a blind date and you have this great little animated feature. Each of the figures is trying to dredge up something to say and be honest at the same time. The problem is that something one says triggers a strange response. Nerves abound and they try, but can't connect. The girl makes a comment about her parents being incinerated. Do you think that could lead to a question or a comment? He doesn't even ask how that happened. This is a tightly produced little film that we all can relate to, even if it makes us crawl.