-Written by Kyle Bain.
2024 FILM MAUDIT 2.0 REVIEW!
Sandy (Maddie Nichols) loves her boyfriend Dan (Vincent Stalba), but she’s reluctant to introduce him to her parents. Her parents (William E. Harris and Michele Rossi) are unique to say the least, and Sandy decides that rather than have Dan meet them, the best course of action is to break up with him. Fck’n Nuts tells the dark, twisted tale of Sandy and her strange parents.
Vibrant colors set against a dark backdrop tell the story of Sandy, but they don’t tell the whole story (and that’s intentional–I think). Those powerful colors, however, set up the film to be something demonic, twisted, far outside the confines of reality. Fck’n Nuts is wonderful in this regard, as it both sets and shatters expectations through its use of color. Writer-Director Sam Fox draws us in, as we are quickly subjected to whacky visuals that fill the screen. With them juxtaposing the overarching darker tones of the short film, they effectively catch our attention, drawing our eye to specific places on screen. Again, this is used to develop expectations among viewers, just so that the rug can be pulled out from underneath us by Fck’n Nuts’ conclusion.
The visuals are stunning, and they are certainly appealing. The camerawork is wonderful, and this team captures the essence of Fox’s film with a (intentionally) frumpy grace.
With the elaborate color strewn throughout Fck’n Nuts comes a series of seemingly extraneous details. Fox works to throw viewers off the scent of what is actually taking place throughout the film–but we see so many unnecessary details that made me question the film as a whole. Deer heads, demented groundhogs (at least I think it’s a groundhog), and more fill the screen. Fox and Director of Photography Daniel Waghorne even choose to engage in a series of extreme closeups to showcase the wild memorabilia present in Sandy’s home.
Again, these things serve no purpose other than to throw us off the scent of the narrative, to misguide us so that we can’t anticipate what will happen next. It certainly works, and if that is, in fact, all that Fox was attempting to accomplish, then she was incredibly successful–but I wish there was more meaning present in these moments of Fck’n Nuts.
I wish there was more in terms of narrative, as much of Fck’n Nuts feels like filler. It doesn’t necessarily guide us through the film, but sort of works to conflict with Fox's story. She creates wonderful juxtaposition in many facets of her film–but with nearly half (if not more) of the film meant to throw us off, it seems like Fox wasted far too much of her short film playing with viewers’ heads rather than developing the story.
Written & Directed by Sam Fox.
Starring Maddie Nichols, Vincent Stalba, Michele Rossi, William E. Harris, & Chris Rydell.
6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
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