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This weekend I’ll be heading to Las Vegas for the CineVegas Film Festival. Known as a mini-Sundance, I figured I would get ready by reviewing one of the many Sundance shorts that are temporarily online.

When I hit the streets of Park City back in January, The Pity Card was the one short I really wanted to see. But, unfortunately, my internship with the Sundance Channel didn’t allow me to get to a shorts program.

The Pity Card (2005) - 12:00

Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show) wrote and directed the comedy, which has one of the more inspired premises I’ve heard of; a young man takes a girl to the Holocaust Museum on their first date. To make matters worse, the girl (Ashley Johnson) is oblivious to the Holocaust.

It’s a rather far-fetched character trait, but the film doesn’t really take place in the real world, but a sketch comedy world. This is good and bad, since it’s very funny but not much of a “film.” But thanks to some good comic actors and original jokes, I enjoyed The Pity Card.

You might recognize some of the faces among the cast, with Simon Helberg (Old School) in the starring role and comedian Zach Galifianakis steals the show in a supporting role.

Odenkirk said he was inspired by Woody Allen and The Celebration, with the latter nod contributing to a jarring visual style that seems out of place.

Check this one out, if only to remember why you miss Mr. Show so much.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 8th, 2006 at 4:06 am and is filed under web video, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.