Sam Langshaw | Amsterdam / 2017

party treats

by Douglas Messerli

 

Sam Langshaw (screenwriter and director) Amsterdam / 2017 [11.32 minutes]

 

Someone will have to explain to me how two nice guys can be friends with such a completely self-serving and obnoxious woman as Jess (Claudia Coy), who begins this film about a birthday party celebration for herself by thanking everyone for coming, mocking some of their costumes, and endlessly chattering on while she opens her parents’ gifts to her, consisting of items so insignificant that she tosses each of the trinkets over her shoulder as her guests sit in a stupor impatiently waiting for the jabber to come to an end.     

    It is even difficult to imagine that anyone who had agreed to attend such a party might possibly be interesting, let alone, as the film’s hero, Matt (Luke Bawja) admits, being “best friends” even if he grants to the stranger, Joe (Thomas Crotty) who has been pushed in his direction by Jess simply because they are both gay, that she can be “a bit of one.” If Jess is a “bit” of anything I can’t imagine what Australian author/director imagines is “more than a bit.” A typhoon on two legs?

     Nonetheless, we somewhat forgive the host’s coarse behavior for the opportunity to discover two shy and sweet boys who basically use Jessica’s rude greeting of Joe, pointing out Matt in her presumption that as two gay guys at the party it which would mean that they naturally would “immediately become best friends or get married,” as Joe puts it. Indeed, Jess might be described as the “dare” these boys have to endure in order to have the opportunity to meet one another, their conversation centered for some time on the host. Matt has met her in high school and they work together at K-Mart, where he is temporarily employed. Joe has met her in relation to a trip they are soon both taking with others to Amsterdam. Joe claims he doesn’t really know her, but has turned up to the party nonetheless, and surely he will have to learn to endure her on their trip.

    At just that moment Jess intrudes once more to ask if they have realized if they’re perfectly matched yet, but Matt quickly sends on her way. He also seems to have another appointment, so there is evidently little chance of the two even discovering if do have anything other than Jess in common.

      Yet they do manage to find a quiet place to sit and talk. When Joe asks who else Matt knows, his answer is that he knows pretty much everyone, but that none of them are friends, at least not anymore, most of them having throwing around words like “fag” at him they discovered he was gay.. Joe confesses that he too endured the name-calling of his classmates in high school, desperate to change schools but afraid to share with his mother the names by which they had described him.

      When Joe finally begins to flirt, discerning that Mat is single, Mat reminds him that he is leaving for Amsterdam in two days. In short, that can be no possible relationship. Besides Mat keeps getting a phone call which he refuses to answer, and when he finally does take it he realizes he has to go.

      What hasn’t been said of course is that these two boys, in their brief moment of being dared to share a few moments together have found a great deal in common, or at least are attracted to each other enough they clearly would like to explore each other a bit more. Obviously neither of them gets many such opportunities.

       Nonetheless, Matt leaves Joe at the party of horrors. Fortunately, Matt doesn’t get far, just halfway down the block before he realizes that he may never have another such chance, returning hopefully for the kiss in which Jess has dared the two to engage.

 

Los Angeles, June 4, 2022

Reprinted from World Cinema Review (June 2022).