Movie #1997 ........................."Shorts 6: It Hurts to Laugh - Comedy (Chicago Film Fest 2020 virtual)

Movie #1997 "Shorts 6:  It Hurts to Laugh - Comedy (Chicago Film Fest 2020 virtual) -- This is one of 10 on this list that we watched in the Chicago  Film Festival (we have a 10-show festival pass).  We are usually attending it in one or two days and see them all in one day, but this year we are watching one or two a night when we can.  This one is the first we watched, and what a disappointment.  We thought this would have laughs, but we didn't laugh once!   In fact, I went back to the website for the festival and told them that very thing --- a bunch of comedy shorts that weren't funny AT ALL!  Here are the individual ones.  If you ever come across any of these titles, know that we don't recommend any of them.

"Blocks" (U.S.)  woman seems bored with taking care of the kids, doing their laundry, making them dinner, etc. and one day as she is putting away the leggos, she has to run to the bathroom and she throws up --- but when she looks in the toilet bowl, she sees she has thrown up legos.  The movie goes on and has an ironic ending.  But it's pretty static just throwing up the legos scene after scene.

I give it 3 out of 5 --- it was the best of the bunch.

"Play Schengen" (Norway ) A gaming company is making a videogame for kids about the EU. You play a national bird needing to breed and nest across borders, but you can only fly according to your VISA. We follow two game designers as they transform the European Union into pixel graphics, in an effort to make Schengen catchy for young people. The question is whether it is possible?

one "Joke" film --- unclear in a lot of places

I give  it 2 out of 5

"Sticker" (Macedonia)  18 minutes

After an unsuccessful attempt to renew his car registration, Dejan falls in a bureaucratic trap that tests his determination to be a responsible father.

Director:

 Georgi M. Unkovski (as Georgi Unkovski) 

Writer:

 Georgi M. Unkovski (as Georgi Unkovski) 

Stars:

 Sasko Kocev, Xhevdet Jashari, Simeon Moni Damevski

Very much a drama rather than a comedy -- once again, a little irony, but he's bleeding through a lot of this film.  2 out of 5

"David" (US) 11 minutes

A therapy session goes off the rails.

Director:

 Zach Woods

Writer:

 Brandon Gardner

Stars:

 William Jackson Harper, Fred Hechinger, Will Ferrell

This is like watching an accident happen.  The old idea that the psychiatrist has more problems than his patient is shown here when Will Ferrel, the therapist dealing with a suicidal patient, is confronted by his son, who wants him to attend his wrestling meet and he has a mental breakdown when his dad says he has to help this guy in the chair rather than his son.

2 out of 5 and not funny!

Stump the Guesser (Canada)

• He works at the fairground as "Stump the Guesser", who can guess anything for a fee. But suddenly his tricks stop working. And then he unwittingly falls in love with his sister whom he believed to be lost. He sets out to scientifically disprove the theory of heredity and marry his beloved as soon as possible. An absurdist firework of a silent film in black and white.

Directors:

 Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson  | 1 more credit »

Writers:

 Evan Johnson (Writer), Galen Johnson (Writer)  |1 more credit »

Stars:

 Adam Brooks, Brent Neale, Stephanie Berrington 

Have to admit, by the time we got to this one, we never finished it --- 

1 out of 5 stars