Over Coffee – A Short Film Review
Over Coffee is a pleasantly funny short looking at the office crush and the lengths someone will go to in order to get their attention.
Andrew (Erik Potempa) has a crush on Carla (Jocelyn DeBoer), the secretary for company boss Hamilton Rice (Timothy J. Cox) who works her to the bone. Andrew and fellow co-worker David (Michael Oberholtzer) argue over who should take some papers up to Carla, as David explains the art of ‘sexting’ to the surprise and shock of Andrew. While David is drooling over his phone Andrew takes the opportunity to go and see Carla with the papers she needs. Unfortunately Carla is struggling with her workload from the demanding Rice so Andrew decides to help and impress Carla by offering to go and get the very specific coffee the boss requires. This task is not quite as simple as Andrew imagined it would be, especially with PR consultant, Laura (Mallory Portnoy) out to spoil Andrews plans.
This short was written and directed by Sean Meehan. This short comedy does a great job of making fun of everyday life in the office. For anyone who hasn’t worked in an office environment, these characters aren’t quite as ‘over-the-top’ as you would imagine. Meehan gives a very light-hearted and enjoyable short. It was well written and put together presenting us with a group of relatable characters who all have a great deal to offer this film. Some of the dialogue between the characters was excellent but my pick of the bunch was the interactions between Andrew and David which were both funny and natural. What Meehan really did in this movie that I liked was placing us firmly in the story from the start, without any kind of introduction, this made me feel this actual world existed and I was getting a snippet into the real life of Andrew.
Erik Potempa as Andrew was a real likable guy who you are rooting for from the beginning. He is your everyday guy trying to get by in the world and somebody I think the vast majority of us can relate to. Potempa plays Andrew really well and had good chemistry with the rest of the cast. It was a very natural performance that he played with ease. Jocelyn DeBoer did a fine job as Carla, although I would have liked to have seen a little more of her in the film, it is clear to see why Andrew likes her. DeBoer has a lot of charm on screen and gives a strong performance as the stressed secretary. Michael Oberholtzer does a fantastic job as David, Andrews co-worker. His interactions with everyone are the highlight of the short and goes a long way towards stealing the show. He plays the cocky and slightly obnoxious character extremely well and looks like he is relishing every minute of it.
The cast are supported by strong foundation of talent. Timothy J. Cox plays the boss, Hamilton Rice. Cox, complete with bald head struts into the film with a very confident performance, his mannerisms in the role ooze authority and give him a very assured presence on screen, which immediately makes you understand why Carla is always stressed. His coffee spill gave me the biggest laugh of this short. Mallory Portnoy is an excellent adversary for Andrew, ad does a great job as the PR consultant ‘From Hell’. She throws everything in to being as obnoxious as possible and it really works, presenting a character you immediately want to dislike and gives you even more of a reason to cheer on Andrew.
I really liked the choice of music in this short which was very Barista-esque, provided by Erik Campo and Kevin McLeod. This was very fitting for both the coffee based title and a fun film.
The only real issue I had with this film was one or two moments with sound quality that made me have to use my ears a little harder to try and understand what the characters were saying, but being an independent short on a budget, these issues can be tolerated and doesn’t take anything away from the film.
Overall this movie was a really fun and entertaining short that pleased this audience and gave me a satisfying conclusion that left a smile on my face.
