Warner Bros. | 2009 | 89 mins. | Rated PG
Unlike his buddy Quentin Tarantino, director Robert Rodriquez, well known in adult circles for ultra-violent films like Sin City and Grindhouse, is equally well known for helming kid friendly films, particularly the Spy Kids series. I will say this for the Writer, director, producer, composer, cinematographer, and editor; he seems to be a jack-of-all-trades who doesn’t deal in middle ground. His latest film, 2009’s Shorts, is so convoluted and hard to follow; I’m not sure who was supposed to enjoy it. A mishmash of a story featuring slapstick influenced fights, tiny green men and giant booger monsters, the whole thing seems rather half baked.
The film is set in the suburban town of Black Falls, Texas, where young Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett), a rather odd kid and a frequent target of bullies, wishes he had some friends. Most of the adults in town work for Black Box, a big company that produces a little square device that does almost everything imaginable: this little device is a telephone, a computer, an adding machine, a can opener, a dog groomer, a megaphone and countless other things. Despite the device’s successes, the company’s owner, Mr. Carbon Black (James Spader), is greedy and wants his employees to make the device do more. Among the employees are Toe’s parents (Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer). Toe might be one of the unluckiest kids in the world. Not only is he constantly bullied, but his own parents and sister (Kat Dennings) ignore him most of the time.
One day Toe finds a rainbow-colored rock that seems to grant wishes. Before long, we see how said stone affects the lives of neighbors Nose (Jake Short), Dr. Noseworthy (William H. Macy), brothers Lug (Rebel Rodriguez), Laser (Leo Howard), and Loogie (Trevor Gagnon), as well as his own sister. But when the egotistical Mr. Black himself sees what the object can do, he must have it for his own.
The title is derived from the fact that the film consists of a series of brief vignettes where the wishing rock changes hands and causes havoc among all the inhabitants of Black Falls. Rodriguez, who wrote, directed, and produced the film (and also served as cinematographer and co-editor, and wrote some of the music), has Toe tell the story, with almost no real structure; just the way any kid might tell a tale. The problem is, he muddles things so badly, it’s nearly impossible to get a handle on how much of anything occurred.
Adults will likely be biding their time waiting for Shorts to end. However, for young kids who can get a handle on the story, there’s likely something in there for them to enjoy—robots, space ships, lasers, telekinesis, flight, slimy creatures, massive insects, waddling reptiles, castles, moats, poisonous snakes, staring contests, neverending chocolate bars, mind-reading babies, rocket bikes, and helpless adults who need their children to intervene before they tear each other apart.
So while parents will likely find the storyline scatterbrained and the special effects right out of the corny hall of fame, Shorts is one that a lot of kids will likely relate to and find the humor in.
Shorts features a bit of a disappointing 1080p/VC-1 transfer. Primaries are sometimes lacking blacks aren’t always properly resolved, contrast often overheats or flatlines, and skintones vary from scene to scene. It doesn’t help that several computer-generated creatures suffer from dated animation and cartoonish, low budget CG. However, the overall clarity remains impressive, edge definition is sharp, textures are fairly refined (if somewhat inconsistent), and several shots are striking. Artifacting occasionally peppers the bright skies and noticeable banding pops up in each segment’s title card, but the image is, othnerwise clean. Aliasing, noise, crush, and significant macroblocking are nowhere to be found, and ringing, while present throughout, rarely interferes with the integrity of the presentation.
Shorts‘ TrueHD 5.1 surround track comes off better than its video transfer. Dialogue is clear at all times, and nicely prioritized Directionality is sometimes two-dimensional, but remains well within the bounds of a live-action cartoon. Pans are buttery, dynamics are effective, and high-pitched wheens and sheengs are perfectly stable. All things considered, I doubt Shorts could sound any better than it does here.
Shorts offers the following special features:
- The Magic of Shorts (HD, 9 minutes) is a standard special effects featurette hosted by Rodriguez.
- Show and Tell (HD, 5 minutes) introduces the film’s young cast, follows them around the set, and reveals what they would wish for if given the opportunity.
- Cooking School (HD, 10 minutes) finds the director and his daughter making Chocolate Chip Volcano Cookies.
- Film School (HD, 10 minutes) gives Rodriguez the chance to show kids how to make the most of their homemade movies.
Shorts is available on DVD, Blu-ray and On-Demand November 24, 2009.
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