preparations for a gentleman caller
by Douglas Messerli
Colin Sheehan (screenwriter and director) What
to Expect When You’re Expecting / 2020 [3 minutes]
First, brush up on your communication skills, particularly since you
haven’t been speaking to someone for a long time. Sheehan can hardly be
comprehended at this point, talking some sort of private language he’s created
for himself alone during lockdown.
His
second point is to brush up in facial expressions, as he his eyes pop out and
he attempts a lame smile or two.
Part Two concerns “style.” He goes through his closets to find new
shirts and pants that might take him into a realm out of sweatpants and
T-shirts, expect they look somehow like the last time he bought a new piece of
clothing was in 1949, without them giving off the vibes of a vintage look.
But
then he gets a response from his “match,” who doesn’t feel they’re at right for
one another. With tears Colin suggests you also should wait for the other to
respond back.
He
turns away from the camera, but suddenly his phone rings once again. “O my God,
I’ve got another match!”
Despite the film’s general silliness, a couple of his comments truly hit
home. I did have some difficulty in knowing how to control the amount of
information I poured out on unsuspecting friends who I hadn’t seen in months.
Did they really want to hear about the hundreds of movies I’d been writing
about? Evidently not.
And no one, at my age, will be able to convince me now to change out of
my pajamas and sweatpants—at least while I’m in the house. Besides, my clothes
are also all outdated and no longer fit!
Los Angeles, June 4, 2023
Reprinted from World Cinema Review (June
2023).
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment