MicroCinema Scene

After a visit to the local gypsy ends with a kiss on the lips from another woman, Leslie (Lanier) finds herself cursed.  With the full moon rising that night, she finds herself transformed…into a lesbian.  Can she find a cure before it’s too late?  Or does she even want to find one?  Those questions and more are posed by Were-grrl, a short comedy from Happy Cloud Pictures.

Comedy on the micro level tends to be hit or miss.  Here writers Best and Watt do their best to pack as many jokes into the dialogue as possible, giving some scenes the feeling of Kevin Smith writing an episode of The Gilmore Girls.  The actors do their best to tackle the joke-heavy lines, allowing the script to take center stage.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few sight gags to add to the fun, but some tend to work better than others (especially the ones that are allowed to build throughout the short).

The cast is filled with some of the biggest names in the scene right now:  Lilith Stabs in on hand for the wraparound segments (although I get the feeling her scenes were shot during a convention - even the Book of the Dead makes a cameo), and Debbie Rochon steals the show as a bartender at the local gay bar.  But this is Jasi Cotton Lanier’s show, and she does an admirable job of carrying the load.  Her comedic timing is solid, and I just wish there was more material for her to really let loose on.  The rest of the cast is mixed - it’s pretty obvious when a non-actor is on screen, but fortunately those roles are more for quick punchlines than attempts at fully fleshed out roles.

Where Were-grrl falls short though is on the technical side.  The audio levels are extremely low, and the quality varies from scene to scene.  There were times when I had to go back because I missed the punchline due to the weak sound mix, and some additional music might have helped punch up some of the gags.  The editing is also jarring at times, especially the jump cuts or the awkward transitions when one take didn’t flow well into the next.

The extras on the DVD are definitely worth watching, mainly for the way the camera loves Debbie Rochon.  Her energy can be felt in every moment she’s on screen, and it’s fun seeing the cast and crew talking about their intentions behind making a movie where lesbians aren’t simply sex objects used to move units.  If you’re looking for a lesbian comedy where each scene ends with clothes-tearing and open mouth smooching, look elsewhere.  And then there’s that whole bit about fingernails…

As a comedic short (the running time is around thirty minutes), I’d consider Were-grrl a moderate success.  While technically it’s very rough around the edges, there were enough jokes that made me chuckle and more than one scene that had me laughing out loud.  However if your tastes lean more towards bodily fluids and a high gross-out factor, look elsewhere. 

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