Ewww (NR)

“Ewww” is a date movie – I guess. Written and directed by Alexei Slater (producer on the indie film “The Driving Seat”), “Ewww” is an indie short that won ‘Best Comedy’ at the Crystal Place International Film Festival. I suppose that’s the best way to describe this film – comedic; though it does have elements that lightly peck away at the awkwardness of a first date. With two leads – one, over the top, and one, subdued and sarcastic, “Ewww” will draw a few laughs, though it deals with macabre and bizarre material at its close that may be hard to relate to.

I suppose after seeing this film I can scratch off pulling my cell phone out on a date and looking up a list of ‘icebreaker questions.’ Bad idea. Casual conversation, sharing of interests are probably far better notions. Anyways, that’s what Mary (Harrie Hayes) does on her first date with Jason (Nick Read), with results she was probably not expecting. “Who is your favorite Hollywood crush and what is your favorite place to visit that you haven’t been?” Brad Pitt, and Thailand Mary exclaims.

Exclaims is the right word. Hayes is, for the majority of the date, manic, full of excitement, and, for lack of a better word, awkward. But she’s nice. As the date progresses, with her often oversharing while getting little back in return, Hayes makes us like the character and takes what is clearly a difficult role and adds depth and smartness to it. A quick IMDb search reveals that Hayes has 12 acting credits to her name, mostly indie shorts and TV series, and was a writer on the TV series “Zazu” for 3 episodes.

As her date, Jason (Nick Read, who also appeared on the show “Zazu”), is harder to pin down. He reveals his crush and place he’d like to visit (which won’t be revealed here to maintain some surprise when you watch the film), but his responses come off deadpan, sarcastic, and bored. Jason is a bizarre man, part misanthrope, part stoic, a man who replies carefully and rather uninterestedly; someone who probably thinks this game – as well as his date – is very silly and doesn’t fein an attempt to hide that fact in his answers.

At 6 minutes and 32 seconds, “Ewww,” however, doesn’t spend its whole time in the bar, but speeds toward an ending at Jason’s house, as he takes his date home, that skips through some sexual grabbing and fussing, before setting its hand at a bizarre yet nasty reveal: Mary, unable to sleep next to Jason’s perpetual snoring, wanders into his living room and discovers a folder of CDs with the name of various ‘women’ on them. She pops one in, sits back, and is quickly brought to a stage of needing to vomit. What did she see? We don’t know. It’s not the film that Slater wanted us to see (although the reason is basically given away during the ending credits – and while you may think you know where “Ewww” is going, it’s not what you think).

“Ewww” is a strange film to quantify. It’s a standard indie production, with seemingly good filmmaking and camera work, especially during the film’s bar scene, where lingering cameras on the couple avoid the temptation to zoom around the bar, or show other people or things that take away from the conversation and this couple. It’s filmed mostly in dim lighting, except for the bright, rather banal lights of Jason’s bedroom as the couple get frisky, and comes off as a well done feature. The acting is also fine, ranging from passable to very good. Hayes does – at first – come off in such a way that is minutely irritating, but transforms over the course of the date (rather purposefully or not, as her mania and excitement are a welcome buffer to Jason’s detached and uninterested replies). In this part Read excels, to me earning ‘Best Actor’ in this film as he convinces us, without much in the way of dialogue, that he may be hiding something sinister under his causal veneer.

But overall it’s hard to describe this film. If you go in looking for a comedy akin to laugh fests like “Seinfeld” or even sarcastic humor like “The Office,” you’ll likely be disappointed. “Ewww” is a dark humor, mostly unstated, humor invoked in watching its hapless victim Hayes flounder around in the muck of disinterest and mystery that Read emits. It’s less than 7 minutes, so will not be hard to digest for even impatient viewers; however, its dark, off cuff material may make it harder to access for those looking for a straightforward laugh.