Worldwide Short Film Festival -- Slap 'n Tickle

I went with a friend to see Slap n' Tickle of the WWSFF Friday night, at the Innis Hall Theatre, in Toronto. The show was hilarious, for the most part -- there were a couple of shorts that just didn't work. The ones that worked had humour -- the ones that didn't, just didn't make sense, or tried to be serious. The following is a quick synopsis of the show -- don't read if you don't want spoilers.

Who Makes Movies? -- This is a hilarious spoof of the MPAA's anti-piracy campaign -- a spoof of the commercials you're forced through when you visit a theatre to watch a Hollywood movie. This spoof is geared towards saving the porn industry from piracy. Randy Palmer, a fluffer working in the industry, waxes eloquent on the plight of the little people that are a part of the porn industry -- the little people that are hurt when porn movies are pirated. The parody works, and had me laughing out loud from beginning to end.

Pillow Talk -- A bored and lonely housewife decides to spice up her life with the telephone repairman when he comes calling. Her husband has troubles getting it up, and won't get help. It just happens that her phone keeps breaking and is in constant need of service. When she gets pregnant, things go down hill rapidly. Until her husband finally gets up the courage to go to a clinic for help. Then she's laughing, as she no longer needs the telephone repairman, and she her husband won't know who her baby's father really is. The movie is quite well made, and hilarious.

Quicktime Interruptus -- What happens when a guy tries to watch a porn video online? Well, he falls into pop-up hell. Soon as the video gets going, those nasty pop-ups appear on his screen, blocking the action. This one was one minute long, but a one minute well wasted.

Hamoudi & Emil -- This was a funny short that follows the misadventures of Hamoudi & Emil, two twelve year old buddies that are spying on the neighbour suntanning, trying to get a glimpse of her breasts. Try as they might, they have no luck however. They can't get by her husband, nor faith it seems. They eventually turn to Allah for help -- and while they don't succeed with their neighbours wife, they young Casanova's do manage to get the attention of a couple of girls. Hamoudi & Emil's quest for love for funny -- although the film sort of ended abruptly.

Cario Calling -- Another funny short. Ahmed moves from Egypt to Montreal and seems to be leading a successful bachelor life -- a life that's turned upside down when his Mom shows up with marital plans for him. He has to chose which Egyptian girl he's going to marry. Mom finds out the hard way that Ahmed just isn't into girls when she accidentally comes on her son and his gay lover. She wasn't going to leave until she saw him married however -- and since gay marriage is accepted in Canada, Ahmed married a Canadian. At least that's the story Mom is going to tell the folks back home.

Tumshie McFadden's Bid For Ultimate Bliss -- Another funny short -- sort of. Tumshie is on a mission to find gratification for all his senses at the same time. Can he drink a beer, smell the oil from his model train, watch his favourite dart player make that dramatic throw, hear the perfect tune and have sex with his girlfriend at the same time? He's a sensualist extraordinaire -- and manages to screw it all up. The short was funny because of the Scottish accents -- it wasn't spectacular.

Toy Joy -- It has potential but fizzled at the end. What happens when a couple is reunited in bed? Their jealous sex toys try to find things to do amongst themselves. Like I said, it had potential. But then it just ended. Seemed rather pointless.

Forced Entry -- This was funny, and apparently it's an old joke. A man breaks into a house at night, takes a knife and some cord, and bounds a sleeping couple. The woman is terrified, and the husband tells her to just cooperate -- take one for the team. Give the rapist what he wants so they don't both get killed. The rapist leans over her, whispers in her ear, then leaves for the bathroom. The wife turns to the husband, and informs him that the rapist is actually looking for vaseline. Apparently he's more interested in the husband than the wife. She sarcastically tells her husband to be brave and take one for the team. He wasn't expecting that -- and it was easy for him to tell her to be brave.

Neighbourhood Watch -- This wasn't funny. Wasn't that entertaining. In the subburbs apparently, there's a lot happening between neighbours that take their dogs for a walk. It all comes crashing down however, when a dog eats the panties during one of the nightly trysts. The movie was kind of serious -- not that funny.

Broadcast 23 -- This is a Bigfoot story of a different kind. Scientists researching Bigfoot get more than they bargained for when they broadcast recording number 23 in the wild. They thought it was a greeting -- instead, it turned out to be a mating call. Chaos and humour ensues.