Blissful Banquet
From the Archives
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29-Jun-2015
A goofy buddy comedy with a language of its own, uniquely disarming and oddly hilarious. As an expression of their friendship, two young roommates — Ronnie and Darnell — meet in their living room one night a week to give each other a hug. So explains Darnell via his “little radio show” recorded in his bedroom that is somehow actually broadcast on the radio (FM 93.9!).
The two friends have such a weirdly close relationship that when Darnell’s girlfriend comes over for dinner, Ronnie sings her a love song. Melissa is not exactly charmed by the fact that the wrong roommate sang to her (“I’m not gonna lie / I really think you're my baby”), and she bolts and Darnell is distraught. Looking at a picture of her on his phone later, he awkwardly chants, “Won’t you come back to me. Won’t you come back to me.” Enter Ronnie with one last strange expression of friendship...
Ronnie and Darnell, played by Andrew Ryder and Daniel Johnson respectively, are effortlessly funny and endearing. Director Harrison Atkins lets the goofiness spill out, in fact introducing the thought that perhaps these two are not human, but alien. Fully formed but casual, rare for its combination of the sweet and the peculiar, Blissful Banquet is one of my favorite comedy shorts so far this year.
Directed by Harrison Atkins. Starring Daniel Johnson and Andrew Ryder.
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