Mikes Film Talk

Static Cling, or as I like to think of it; Getting Sticky in the Laundromat: Is a good natured bit of fun. Steve Lifshey writes, directs and edits this just over 18 minute offering with an expert eye. He has some impressive bona fides. These past credits obviously allowed him to come up with a winning formula on an estimated $15k budget.

Synopsis

Static Cling opens with Vic Vending, Timothy J Cox staring at the front of a snack machine. He is debating what to have and after making his choice, the candy bar gets stuck.

Meanwhile: Kyle (Bj Gruber) is begrudgingly putting his clothes in a drier. This young man is obviously a “noob” when it comes to the laundromat. In what must be the most crowded laundromat in the world, he manages to annoy everyone.

He spies Sally (Jackie McCarthy) neatly folding her clothes to music. He makes a testosterone influenced move to impress the young lady. Things do not go well.

thoughts

There is a lot going on in the Static Cling world. Along with Kyle having no idea about Laundromat etiquette, he needs to work on his people skills. Kyle is thoroughly stuck in his coat and he asks for help. Almost predictably, he goes to the wrong folks for assistance. They too seem to be strangers in Laundromat land.

Vic Vending is pretty much oblivious to the mayhem at the driers. He focuses on his battle with the machine. He really wants that candy bar. A number of attempts fall short of his desired goal.

The story is amusing and pretty much on point. Kyle goes from a “bro” looking for love to a child. Despite getting a bit of bag help from an older woman. *Side note: Faith (Eva Visco) sounds unnervingly like Sherri Moon-Zombie. I kept waiting for her to break into dialogue from House of a 1000 Corpses, “Gimme a B…”*

Kyle goes through a number of changes during his coat humiliation. We see them all and most of what he does is darn funny.

Lights Camera Action

Lifesy knocks this one out of the park. Everything works here. The overly bright lighting, the musical score, and last but not least, the actors. Cox is always spot on and shows just how many things are in his toolbox. Gruber takes the annoying role of Kyle and fills it with a comedic pathos.

McCarthy is an excellent foil to Gruber’s obnoxious character.

In fact, the entire cast do an excellent job, right down to the woman who looked like a Mrs Howell doppelganger (Gilligan’s Island) but sounded like Sheri Moon-Zombie.

Static Cling earns a full 5 stars out of 5. Everything is here in this short film. Sadly if you want to see this one, you are out of luck. At least for awhile. It is currently making its festival run. Keep an eye out though. This, as the northerners use to say, “Is a gud un.”