FILM INFO: There is an overwhelming desire for Paul Brockmann to collect dresses. Come in and follow the zany life full of contradictions. Remember everybody has a secret.
WRITTEN BY: Diane Mellen/Stacey Stone DIRECTED BY: Stacey Stone GENRE: Doc TIME: 16 minutes
I was expecting a lot of things when I sat down to watch The Man Behind 55,000 Dresses. With this kind of title, you probably know exactly what I mean. A man collecting such a monster amount of dresses? What gives? I was about to find out. I must admit I was completely shocked when I'd watched it right to the end... and actually loved it. Me. A guy who generally doesn't watch this kind of thing. This short may be a lot of things, but boring isn't one of them. That's the truth. The film plays like a TV Featurette. Part story, part news segment, and part documentary. Clips wrapped around interviews in a complete and fully entertaining way. The Man Behind 55,000 Dresses relies upon many genres to pull itself above the crowd and is 100% a success! Is it simply about a hoarder? Not at all. It's a Romance that can be a little funny at times. It even has a history element with a small segment on life in, and around the time of WW2! There really is a lot of interesting stuff here. Paul Brockmann has done an amazing thing for all the right reasons! What are those reasons? Watch the film to find out! In the meantime, you can call it strange or call it OCD... but you can't call it boring. You simply call it an interesting story captured perfectly by Writers and Director Diane Mellen and Stacey Stone. What really brings everything together is the way it's put together. Camera and audio are what you'd expect from a short created in this style, but the editing brings it to life! Stacey Stone has a few editing credits under her belt, but in this film, she comes across as an editing lifer! A true natural gift. This film could have gone the other way and been horrible if the editing was done wrong. But that didn't happen. The edits, the pacing... all perfect! If you ever happened to come across The Man Behind 55,000 dresses on your TV, you'd probably be thinking how weird it was. A man collecting so many dresses and in secret to boot. You would probably watch for a minute just for something to do, as a commercial played on your regular channel. Then, a funny thing happens. You realize you've watched the entire film! Remote control still in hand and pointed at the TV. That's the essence of The Man Behind 55,000 Dresses, pure entertainment! This is a short film that has you thinking one thing, and end up thinking something completely different. In itself, that's what it's all about, right? Bringing the viewer into your little world for a while. The definition of Movie Magic. Here's where you find it! Do yourself a favor and watch this when you can. The premise may be a little weird at first, but as you watch... Well. Let's just leave it at that. It truly was my pleasure, and I'm thankful for the 15 minutes of entertainment. A note to Diane Mellen and Stacey Stone. Do what you can to get this on network Television somehow. IFC, local... whatever. If myself, someone who doesn't love this genre, can like it this much, the possibilities are endless. JT
