WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Look, ALL I am needing here is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing BUT the truth!! Is it really THAT hard??!! Well, as much as we might aim to BE an individual who chooses to provide responses to inquiries that are filled with absolute verity, does it not seem we just manage to run into someone who simply DOESN’T believe us?? At least, it feels like we hear about such instances more often than we should, and it only becomes that much more disconcerting when the one who DOUBTS us–is the one we’re supposed to TRUST to HELP! One hapless and understandably shaken man (Bryan Kaplan) has had–an incident. Doing what should be done, he’s called the cops to take his statement at the scene of the unfortunate encounter. Yet, when Officer Crawford (Christy Lee Hughes) arrives on scene to do just this, what should have been routine becomes an exercise in alarmingly inappropriate levels of disharmony and unbelief for our poor victim.
Next, my Mind:
Hilarity abounds, political incorrectness thrives, sexism gets a gender-swap, honesty gets a witty slap in the face, and what scares you most is that there’s most likely a touch of reality we have to face when it comes to the story depicted in this new indie short film effort from director/executive producer Christy Lee Hughes, writer Rhea MacCallum (based on her play of the same name but with some things switched around. With permission, of course!), producer/cinematographer Olivia Riportella, producer Amy Sullivan, executive producer/editor Christopher Vincelette, executive producer Bryan Kaplan, and supervising producer Charles Papert. Beautifully utilizing every minute of its truncated 12-minute runtime to maximum effect, it’s a socially aware exploration that bites with fervent purpose with both candidly satiric and unavoidably realistic elements that speak so deftly to the state of our modern culture, even if we so often don’t prefer to fess up and ADMIT it.
More often seen via scenarios where it’s a woman being unnecessarily harrassed and/or blamed and doubted by a male, this time we are entreated to a narrative that takes these notions and changes things around to see a totally normal guy simply wishing to report a unnerving accident he’s just been a part of being confronted by the female police officer dispatched to the scene who seriously, and with intentionally exaggerated vigor, rakes him over the coals rather than truly assisting. Soon it’s an exercise in frustration for both parties involved, though for one it’s legitimate and one hundred percent expected while for the other it would appear to be more about relishing the chaos, embracing it, with the exacerbation more feigned and sarcastic than meant at all. It’s the sheer absurdity and magnitude of the situation, how it is so intelligently layered to keep building and building, that lends the film ALL the virtually non-stop, amazingly wry comedic moments it offers. Plus, the finale is a complete hoot!! The music score is a joy as well!
Thematically, the film really addresses, in some form, about every primary discriminatory faux pas one could ask for (yet NEVER would actually WANT!!) in a conversation and then some, with innuendos, accusations, assumptions, questioning of one’s mental state and dietary habits, answers being misconstrued or twisted, being put on the defensive, blame shifting, and just good old fashioned “I just don’t believe you” all given some screen time in the course of one blatantly messed up “interrogation”. While again much of this IS overplayed for the sake of the guffaws that the circumstances elicit in spades, what DOES still strike me is that there’s almost NO hesitation in my mind about the fact that this type of experience DOES happen, perhaps more than we might like to be made aware of, some of which we’ve heard about. It is a shame that so often women get blamed for so many things out of pure unadulterated ignorance by those perpetrating ANY form of interactions even remotely close to this one, but I feel seeing things flipped around paints a compelling picture that isn’t afraid to state that MEN might end up being the abused as well. Much less that those in authority we’re supposed to TRUST would see their JOB as THIS tedious.
Very much in line with her wonderfully executed role in 2022’s dramedy short “Guardian” (reviewed HERE), Hughes once more shines brightly with deliciously snarky attitude and controlled but utterly hysterical swagger through her newest role as Officer Crawford, the local L.A. cop sent to “tend” to a man who’s had a very traumatic instance occur to him that he only wants to report as he should. Yet, upon her arrival, the LAST thing she chooses to do is be a compassionate listening ear to him, but rather turns everything he tries to state while being FULLY cooperative and reasonable into some form of opportunity to argue his story and the verity of any of it. As the tension simmers at first then heads towards boiling point, Officer Crawford maintains her own level of borderline arrogant “composure” even as her poor quarry only becomes more and more agitated. It’s awesome thanks to Hughes’ comedic timing and flawless delivery, making the character one you will LOVE to hate and want to just smack upside the head!
However, let it be known that, also just like in the aforementioned “Guardian”, Hughes’ acting and real life partner Kaplan returns to the screen and does so with that affable “everyman” charm and, here, escalating annoyance and disbelief at the confounding exchange he’s caught in through the role of the Man, a regular Joe who’s found himself in a predicament that needs reported. However, once the police show up, the last thing he would expect is the wave of total derision, scorn, and taunting he must attempt to endure from the female officer while coming to the realization HE is being painted as a PERP rather than the actual victim he is! As his patience continually melts away moment by moment, it seems he may not even get any real assistance, much less resolution, to his dilemma regardless of how he pleads his case to her. Kaplan magnificently infuses the Man with humorously smoldering irritation, excellently performed to showcase the right amount of credibility to take the character’s demeanor seriously, but laugh at him as well.
The only supporting “appearance” made here is via voice only from Devon Edwards as the voice of the police dispatcher who sends out the message Officer Crawford responds to. So, in total, “Asking For It” becomes not just another comedy, and not just “one more effort shot during COVID-19 (which it was, following ALL protocols in place at that time. Safety, first folks), but one that imbues its narrative with smartly conceived (and slightly re-arranged) relevance amidst the jocularity in order to make a necessary statement about things that need to change in this world but while doing THAT, allowing us all a chance to do what is also so desperately needed these days—SMILE and LAUGH. Given this film’s gist, anything less would be, well, criminal.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
