Bruce
“BRUCE” is a fun short film that revolves around a kid, Bruce, standing up to his arch nemesis, Ninja, the boyfriend of Bruce’s main love. This short film has an innocence and style behind it that can easily bring a smile to your face. It has a style that seems to be influenced by Wes Anderson or even Edgar Wright as it has a lot of fast cuts, a quirky voice over, and a lot of neat angles that really showcase how quirky our main protagonist is as well.
One of my favorite things about this film is the way it introduces these characters. There’s Bruce, a random kid eating an ice cream cone, Ninja, and Louisiana (the love interest of Bruce). Each shot in this short film counts toward bringing out something unique about every character. There’s no dialogue exchange between them. It’s all done with their actions and the way the angles capture their personalities. When we first see Bruce, we can’t help but feel bad for the kid. I mean, he gets kicked right in the area where it hurts the most by Ninja. He’s a dweeb. His glasses, his fighting costumes, and his mindless love Louisiana. Everything about him scream total dweeb. We automatically want to root for him to kick Ninja’s butt. We wish for him to have the girl of his dreams. That’s the kind of character Bruce is.
I think the structure of this short film is what really makes it work. It’s solid through and through. There are interesting characters, an interesting premise, and it all feels complete by the end of the film. A small part of me wanted to see Bruce interact with the outside world, like at school or even with the kid eating an ice cream cone (he’s my favorite; some of his reactions are priceless), or even him talking to us, as an audience. There could have been some humor showcased at those moments that could have really highlighted moments for him and for us to connect with him as a person.
Another thing that really works in this short film is its editing. That’s actually what really makes this thing really stick out and a ton of fun. Quick cut, show image, quick cut, another interesting angle plus voice over, quick cut, etc. It becomes a rhythm as the film plays on. Every cut is a beat and in a way this felt like a music video. It had a tempo that entranced us to watch more and more until the credits finally came on.
I think this is charming overall. It really is. There’s something about it that’s so dorky, so whimsical, yet so enticing to watch. The sequences of the fighting and the buildup to it are nicely executed and the music with the voice overs only add to the fun tone this film gives off. There’s a vast majority of people who appreciate Wes Anderson films as well as Edgar Wright and the style of this echoes that of those two. Watch it and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
