Bryers Cucumber Tostinos - Short Film Review

Bryers Cucumber Tostinos – By Christopher Hall – Short Film Review

A beautifully-made, absurdist comedy story of a man-boy who lives in a corner market, still waiting for his mother to come pick him up.

Christopher Hall has an eye for the offbeat, masterfully-executed genre. Bryers Cucumber Tostinos is a perfect example of what happens when genius meets madness, in all the best ways. 

The film manages to be hilarious, while actually delving into an intriguing, well-performed story all throughout. The wonderful writing by Patrick Tamisiea and Nicholas Leeds is what brings in the heart and depth of the story, while the perfect performances by Patrick Tamisiea, Kevin Pollak and Maggie Mae Fish are what really drive it all home. 

This wonderful film does a thing that I wish far more comedies would do: and that is focus on all aspects. The humor across the story is excellent, of course, but it’s the “real” nature of the world, the professional-grade cinematography, the amazing acting, the tight script, the glorious set design, etc, that really take Bryers Cucumber Tostinos to the next level. Nothing is being “phoned in” across the short, and thus it feels passionate, hysterical and all-in-all, masterful.

The story plays with the absurdist nature of Tamisiea’s character with humorous and story-heavy beats. This keeps the film constantly evolving and consistently engaging. Without spoiling the entirety of the movie, it’s worth noting that the film manages to wrap things up perfectly, utilizing the shot film’s length to feel perfect in length and pacing.

Overall, Bryers Cucumber Tostinos is a wonderful, hilarious and immensely interesting film from the incredible mind of Director Christopher Hall and writers Nicholas Leeds and Patrick Tamisiea.