Greg’s Guardian Angel – A Short Film Review
Greg gets more than he bargained for when his guardian angel gives him a visit to help him change his life, but things don’t go exactly how either had planned. Greg’s Guardian Angel is an extremely fun and entertaining short, it is well-timed and expertly delivered to give us a great film.
Greg (Greg Vorob), is just your everyday guy trying to get by in life. One day Greg gets a surprising visit from his guardian angel (Elmer J. Santos) who gives him some “tie advice” that proves to be extremely helpful in changing his fortunes. With the assistance from the angel Greg’s life seems to keep getting better and better, however, the advice soon turns to disaster and Greg’s luck quickly changes.
The short was written by Dan Conrad. Dan definitely knows how to write great comedy giving us ten minute movie that was funny from start to finish. Some of the dialogue was excellent, my favorite lines are still in my mind including “If you like green ties, you hate this country” and “It’s a big opportunity Greg, I know, but I am going to need your decision in the next ten seconds”. The writing is supported by an excellent cast who know how to deliver the dialogue, but it is down to Dan for being able to come up with it. Dan definitely has a lot to offer.
Dan Kowalski is the man in charge behind the camera and does his very best to capture the silliness and crazy nature of this film. Kowalski keeps things moving forward, never lingering for too long in one scene. Judging from this short film it is clear that Dan Kowalski has excellent direction and framing of a scene and has it down to perfection. These two Dan’s have done an excellent job and certainly one to be proud of.
This very well made short impressed me from the start with the animated opening sequence, not something you see very often in a short-film. This opening has a purpose as it starts in the sky and zooms in onto Greg’s flat, showing us the journey the angel has taken to get there. This is matched with the opening title music which is very fitting to the animation. The music continues throughout to a very high standard and completely inline with the film. Romain Battaglia gives us some very infectious tunes that has you nodding your head along to it, particularly in the closing credits.
The quality continues as Greg Volob comes across as a natural in his role and his well-timed delivery makes for some excellent comedy. At times you may even say he is over-acting the part, but this is just what the role requires and Greg hits all the right notes. Elmer J. Santos takes the over-acting to the next level as his amazing performance as the angel. His performance is brilliant and as outrageous as it needs to be. This zany character is brought to life to great effect by Elmer. The interaction between these two characters are the highlight of the film with one bouncing off the other. It was a pleasure to watch them from their first scene together to the last.
Supporting these two were a strong foundation of actors. An unrecognizable Timothy J. Cox, Jack Moran Jr and Caitlin Winter all played their part in making this such an entertaining short. Cox played the role of Greg’s boss Mr Schmaven. His commitment to the role is clearly apparent with his change in appearance which included a shaven head and dark hair. Cox seems to do an excellent job of playing authority figures having seen him take up this kind of role on a number of occasions and he is on fine form here and getting some great dialogue which he expertly delivers. Jack Moran Jr also had an excellent day at the office coming across very well for the limited amount of screen-time he had. His enthusiasm to the role was infectious. Caitlin Winter played Monica, the office beauty, who did a great job, especially having to interact with Greg while keeping a straight face during Greg’s conversation with the angel in the restaurant.
This short film was an excellent piece of comedy and thoroughly enjoyable. This is a great example of what the right team of people can create when working together. It is fun, goofy and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Above all else this was pleasing to watch and I highly recommend this film.
Watch the movie yourself here.
