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First, the Recap:
The fluctuating dynamics of marriage. Any couple worth their salt will feely admit a committed relationship is guaranteed to have its ups and downs, hot points and cold points, anguish and amicability, but ultimately, it’s filled with the foundational, unconditional love it was built on. Yet, what occurs if things grow empty, dry, and devoid of those elements? And what if the object of one’s affection–is a sex doll!!?? Let’s meet a man named Gunther (Timothy J. Cox), someone with a slight problem–he’s no longer happy with his “wife”, a doll he’s been with for three years. Pleasant dinner table conversations and other loving relational aspects aside, his overall affection for her has reached a breaking point.
Knowing things cannot continue as they are, Gunther decides it’s time for a chance and promptly chooses to discard his former “love” and pursue the acquisition of a new “true love”–aka: a different doll. Once arriving courtesy of our friendly neighborhood delivery man (Devin Craig), Gunther embarks on his fresh adventures with a lovely new “beloved”, finding new bliss across the domestic life board and finally believing he’s set. However, little does he realize that this faithful, steadfast, enthusiastic joy he’s experiencing with her is about to get upended via his idealistic notions being shattered when discovering one day that his newly possessed “wife” has a familiar-faced paramour. Crushed and desperate, he seeks solace in the past, with no guarantee it wants him back.
Next, my Mind:
Eccentrically twisted and darkly hilarious, with an equally biting and comically fierce satirical sensibility and tone, this 6-minute short film effort from writer/director Yalan Hu and producer Hunter McGarry certainly blows to smithereens the entire notions of what our minds contrive when hearing about something being “dolled up”, replacing that concept with an admittedly delectable though disturbing picture of what the trials of marriage and subsequent ramifications of dissatisfaction and accompanying rash decision making can yield. While this critic will also divulge in general, based on personal preferences when it comes to contemporary comedies, that the narrative’s direction isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse, being a little more crude in theory and certain specific sequences than I tend to like.
However, this frankly could have been FAR more visually and verbally obscene than it actually is, therefore very much allowing for me to appreciate the many faceted moments of truly witty and mischievously executed mockery of relationships, illustrating our oh-so-human quirks and faulty actions when it comes to resolving our differences, just tossing aside their source, instead of genuinely attempting to work it all out, often realizing as is depicted here that more often than not, you end up losing everything. Following one man’s insanely off-kilter journey towards “love oblivion” here is quite wonderfully silly in its absurdity, emphasized even more when we’re given the revelation he’s not the only one facing the dilemmas he is in his neighborhood! Plus–these dolls ACT like they’re real! Kinda creepy, but brilliantly presented, I won’t lie.
In many ways, though, it ends up being quite sad by the time the film’s finale rolls around if you really wish to take in the fact that so much of the ideas presented here really DO reflect the attitudes and choices we hear about in today’s world when it comes to couples demonstrating sincere willingness to tackle disputes and discover resolutions to them in place of just giving up, thinking it’s hopeless, and moving on, again to sometime finding out they had it great to begin with, but those avenues have now closed. The film’s deft and intentional, albeit unconventionally waggish, approach to paint the portrait of misguided “love” does make one sit back afterwards and, once the laughter has died down, realize with acute awareness just how accurately the film chooses to address realities occurring in this world daily, which is also a hallmark of indie cinema for me and the undeterred fervency of its filmmakers to choose such creative, idiosyncratic means to get conventional ideas portrayed.
Anyone who’s followed me and my opinions for a length of time, you know I always strive to acknowledge as many of the actors involved in a film as I am able, as truly, everyone deserves credit. While that will continue to occur here, it has to be said that this film very much belongs exclusively to superior character actor Timothy J. Cox, once again bringing out the best in a character while showcasing his ongoing ability to simply draw you in and keep you engaged with his role as Gunther, a normal enough (seemingly!) “everyman” who has found that his idea of “love” has been nurtured by a sex doll for the last three years. Totally immersed in this “marriage”, he treats their “relationship” as such, working a job, coming home in the evenings, having a quiet dinner and chat with her, and let’s be frank, still aiming to–enjoy–himself with her. Yet, Gunther soon ascertains that this particular “marriage” isn’t what it used to be, and chooses with some urgency to just ditch his “wife” and order a new one. Once he dives wholeheartedly into his new “marriage”, it becomes evident the grass is not always greener when unfaithfulness becomes a sobering and painful actuality, forcing him to charge back towards what is past to find needed comfort, but will he successfully achieve this is in question, possibly leaving him derelict and “love”-less. Cox is simply magic here.
Supporting appearances as made from Craig as the local delivery driver who becomes much more a part of Gunther’s life than ever expected by him–or desired, and Wayne DeBary as a hobo that Gunther has a rather hysterically irksome encounter with towards the film’s finale. An additional appearance is made by Jeff Mandel as well. In total, with its searingly farcical and brazenly jocular premise and another grand performance by Cox, “Doll It Up” is a continuing example of exactly what indie filmmakers are up to and are intending, which is, for this critic, to exemplify outside-the-box thinking and a freshening up of “it’s been done before” concepts in order to entertain and showcase the worthy filmmaking talent pool that’s out there just waiting to be discovered and pushed to the next level. May it be so.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
