directed by:
Christopher A. Hoffman written by: Christopher A. Hoffman, Ian Hoffman genre: Drama |
The world has always been a hard place. Throughout history, nobody has ever cared about their fellow humans regardless of gender or race - everyone has always treated everyone like garbage, life has always gone on over the backs of others. Unless you were born into some kind of wealth or royalty - you were nothing. Period. You either got extremely lucky with some business venture, or pretended to care about others. Why? Because if you were perceived as someone who really cared, someone more than the sum of their parts, you could start say... a religion? It would be at that point that you yourself would be someone. Someone of importance... all because you pretended to care about your fellow human being.
So how does any of that relate to this particular film? What does that little blurb above have to do with Christopher Hoffman's short film? Everything. "Your Dog Likes Me More Than You" is the very essence of all I've written above; and also proof that today's world, no matter how bad things seem to get, is still better than it once was - and perhaps at the pace of a snail, it still gets better every day. I truly believe that it's through the media, especially with movies like this one, that things have been slowly changing. An outlet allowing people to empathize with the common person, and maybe even to think twice before turning a blind eye. It's people like Petey Ellis, the main character in this film, that benefit from this sort of project. People that are perceived as worthless, insane, or lazy. Movies like this challenge the cliche and make us ask some very important questions. Could anyone have helped, if they had decided to do so? How did this even happen? There's some pretty deep content tucked into a short film with such a funny name. A lot indeed. In a spoiler-free nutshell, this film goes a little something like this. Petey is living on the cusp of homelessness. He walks dogs for his much-needed cash, and writes during his downtime. He dreams of being published, or even looked at for that matter - but his meager life comes crashing down when he is evicted from his building. Now homeless, it becomes more important than ever to get something published, and in his mind, he's got just the thing. It just so happens that one of his clients works for a publishing company, and although this man is not interested, something strange happens - something that gives Petey some hope. The right place, right time adage comes to mind and I'll admit, I was definitely rooting for our lead. Things are not always as they seem however, and in this case, let me just say that the truth was more true to life than I had hoped. How does it all turn out for our lovable dog walker? You'll simply have to watch to find out. Again, this is one of those stories that are not only entertaining, but allows a viewer's mind to venture into new territory. What if this, what if that? It may even open your eyes just a little - to those you possibly interact with all the time. On your way to work, to the store, bank, or even to get a coffee. The less fortunate and the mentally incapacitated. "Your Dog Likes Me More Than You" is a textbook example of using a well-written story, to do more than just catch the eye. There's some real sadness mixed into this flick, and a real message that goes back to what I wrote to start this review going. Never mind how far we've come, but how much further can we still go? When will the life of everyone, anyone, be cherished just as much as our own? It's all here, using Ian Hoffman's character Petey as the vehicle.
The bottom line is this. "Your Dog Likes Me More Than You" is a well written, nicely crafted, and excellently executed short film. The performances, especially from Hoffman, are great and overall? You'll have no problem sticking around for the half-hour length. The broader, more veiled message aside, there's just a lot here to love. I'd have no problem recommending this flick to anyone who asks, and give it a solid four-star rating. To the cast and crew? Well done. |
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