Finding a short film that embodied my genre of choice, Romantic Comedy, was tough because most of it was categorized under pure romance.
I hit the jackpot with “Mixtape” a Luke Snellin directed short that did a lot of things well in 3 minutes.
You get the typical relationship scenario that is present in most Rom-Coms, but Snellin brings it to life with a twist. For one the storyline develops around two kids, any where between 10-12 years old. The boy falls for the girl next door and as the title implies he pours his heart and soul into a mixtape.
In “Mixtape” you have a refreshing take on the typical Rom-Com theme of having the girl fall all over the guy (we don’t even see the girl until the end of the short!). Here’s a boy who is not afraid to take the initiative to put himself out there because he wants the girl.
This film is simple in more than just its length.
A perfect example is that dialogue is kept to a minimum and complemented with song lyrics. In a Rom-Com the soundtrack is a very powerful tool to tell the story and in under 3 minutes “Mixtape” perfects this notion.
“Mixtape” condenses and synchronizes perfectly all the great elements of Rom-Coms: the love story, the hardship, the connection, and comedy in its best form. As a viewer you connect with the aspiration of love the boy feels, while still finding it funny and adorable that he was capable of making such a deep gesture and mixtape.
The short was amazing because it told a timeless story of love without over saturating with fairytale motifs, as my favorite Rom-Coms do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpfHn9jrh88
Photo found on http://photographyxox.com
1 response so far ↓
elizabeth griffin // Sep 23rd 2012 at 6:29 pm
I love boy-falls-in-love-with-girl-next-door movies. It is lucky that they are both beautiful because having a movie surrounded by mostly music can be dangerous as not everyone watching will like the same type of music. Yet, here they did a very good job. The British accent was just an awesome bonus for me.
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