'92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card (2012) User Reviews

this has to be one of the funniest films i've seen at a festival

[tonypersuasion · 10/10 · 5 November 2015]

And not just the sort of knowing-chuckle funny that one expects from indie comedies about estranged brothers, but huge, rolling waves of laughs.

This short connected indie comedy to the tradition of broad slapstick humor, of punches thrown and windows smashed, and it's just a riot. I honestly couldn't stop laughing from the opening scene on.

But as wild and silly as the movie gets, it still connects to the age-old tale of sibling rivalry, of how family relations bring out the worst and best in everyone. It'll be a blast to see with a full house at the festival.

Not realistic, bad character elaboration

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 13 August 2015]

This is a 12-minute short film from 3 years ago written and directed by Todd Sklar, who worked with the two lead actors also on other projects. It is basically about the difficult relationship between two brothers when they reunite because of their father's funeral. And yet despite this heavy background, it is still a comedy film, admittedly not a very funny one. I thought their interactions were fairly random and did rarely make sense. So this turns pretty much into a celebrity deathmatch when all their family and partners are around and the two start fighting. And yet in other situations, they seem completely at peace with each other just like friends. Fairly ridiculous if you ask me, especially how they sit in such an harmonic manner at the fire right after their bloody fight. I cannot say this short movie worked for me and the happy ending felt forced as well. Not recommended. It would have been bearable for a rookie project, but Sklar made several other films before this one, even full features. Thumbs down.

Good natural feel but needed a bit more structure to deliver on

[bob the moo · 8 March 2014]

Jim and Dave are brothers who have long since gone their separate ways but the death of their father sees Jim seeking out Dave and returning home with him for the funeral. The return to the home of their childhood combines with long unspoken issues to bring resentments and childish competition to the surface in both of them.

This short film is a very tight scenario that sums up the generation of men who perhaps feel as connected to their childhood as much as they do to adulthood, it also shows how quickly a return to the home and habits of childhood can have an impact on the behavior and mindset too. In this instance we have two brothers who bicker as they meet up, collapse into childish squabbling and fighting but ultimately do love one another albeit in an uncertain and undefined way. The film does this reasonably well but with the downside that the awkward childish nature of their relationship does have an impact on how well the film gets told. There is a natural feel to their banter and dialogue but it doesn't have a solid frame to hold it within. As a result the characters are less interesting than I would have liked, and the story itself is too simple and yet a bit messy in terms of all the "things" in there.

It has a cool title and good performances from Pumphrey and Rennie, but while the comedic banter helps make the relationship feel real, I didn't feel there was enough structure and heart to the film to really make the most of this.