In psychology, there’s a principle called projection. When someone is projecting, they refuse to believe some negative thing about themselves that on some level they know is true. Instead, they attribute the negative thing to someone else. For example, if you know on a subconscious level that you’re being selfish in a certain situation, but don’t want to face that fact, you may accuse someone else of being selfish when they are manifestly not. The remedy is to develop some critical distance and self-awareness. But in many cases, this is simply impossible.
It was great to see this principle on full display in Dave Srock’s latest short film, Guys Weekend. The film clocks in at just over seven minutes, and every one of those minutes is hilarious. We follow Zach and Tom as they set out on a guys weekend: they’ve rented a house out of town and it seems like they’re planning on doing a lot of hiking and soaking up the solitude of the mountains. And, like many guys weekends, there might be some dishing on the girlfriends. Right away, though, one of the guys seems to be doing a lot more dishing than the other. Zach complains about Nee, his girlfriend in terms that clearly take Tom aback.
When the two get to the house, there’s an electronic tune playing in the soundtrack that makes us think we might be watching a horror-comedy. Is the house haunted? Will one of the guys go crazy? It takes us a while to clue in to what the film is really about. And what it’s really about is jealousy.
We soon discover that Nee and Zach have a plan for their picture perfect friends. Nee and Zach, played by Nee Kirschman and Zachary D. Foster respectively, both have a slightly psychotic look in their eyes. But while Zach’s face is wonderfully expressive, Nee’s is weirdly vacant. It’s a wonderful juxtaposition and both of these actors play these characters perfectly. Tom, played by Thomas Szymanski and Taylor, played by Taylor Shurte, also do a great job. While Zach and Nee are obviously dysfunctional and nuts, Taylor and Tom are the couple that other couples hate. They only say nice things about each other and both seem like well-adjusted, happy people. Srock could have taken this in the direction of presenting the nice couple as being so nice that they are slightly disturbing. Like a house that’s a little too neat and tidy and therefore creepy. But instead, they’re presented as a genuinely likeable pair, and the contrast between the two couples works perfectly.
The writing here is spot on. There’s judicious use of profanity placed at just the right moments. We only gradually figure out what’s really going on here and because of this, the film just gets more and more fun as we watch. And speaking of watching, the cinematography is also simple yet beautiful. It’s easy to make mountains look good, but Srock (who was the cinematographer) also makes the patio where the two women meet look fantastic. The lighting is rich and warm, and the city behind them is evocative. Although not ‘scenic’ in the traditional sense, the shots on the patio were, for me, the best. It looks like this scene was shot just as the sun was setting, and I could really feel what it must have been like to be there.
This is Srock’s third short. The others being Ruffalo (2019) and The Pool: Momma Outta Bullets (2016), all three of which he also wrote.
But, back to the principle of projection. The next time you complain about another couple or think that they’re toxic or otherwise bad for each other, you should take a look in the mirror first.
good writing – judicious use of profanity at exactly the right places. It takes us a while to clue in to what’s going on.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.