Short Film Series: Mr. Happy

Overview:

Mr. Happy is a short film directed by Colin Tilley and stars Chance the Rapper as Victor, a depressed guy that hires a hit man from a sketchy service called Mr. Happy.

Initial Thoughts:

Mr. Happy makes me want to die. This film’s problems are so obvious and obnoxious that it made me genuinely upset. Let’s take a look at the MANY problems this short film has.

Number one, the editing. The way this film is edited makes it look like an episode of MTV Cribs with all of the sped up shots. The film does this annoying jump cut thing that just feels so unnecessary. When a good director and editor does it like Edgar Wright does it his films like Baby Driver and Hot Fuzz, it makes sense because there’s action involved with this style of editing normally and that’s how Wright uses it. Tilley on the other hand, uses it because its “cool” and makes the film look “edgy”. Colin, just stop.

Number two, Chance the Rapper. Chance is just here in this film. He’s clearly not confident in his acting with this role. I understand that Victor is shy, anxious and depressed but Chance doesn’t portray those characteristics at all. Chance just stinks dude and the fact that he’s the main character here just doesn’t do this film any favors at all.

Number three, the music. When I was doing research for this review I was surprised to see that this film has an original score. Ben Roman’s score sounds like the most bland, overused, and generic soundtrack. I thought it was free stock music from Youtube or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if Roman made this music in a night, don’t quit your day job bro.

Number four, the side actors. Victor’s coworker and the love interest are like the only two other people we see in this film. I’m gonna start with the coworker, this guy is supposed to be the comedic relief and he just fails. Failing must be something that Colin Tilley is familiar with because he plays the coworker too. The love interest has no development. She comes out of nowhere and the film just expects us to go along with the fact that her and Victor are suddenly in love? Come onnnnnnnnnnn. Oh yeah, she’s also turns out to be the assassin that Victor hires from the beginning and she kills him.

Final Thoughts:

This short film makes me want to hire Mr. Happy. Don’t watch it. Go do something more meaningful with your life, like watch paint dry, join a gang, or drunk text your ex. This film sucks, Chance the Rapper sucks, Colin Tilley sucks, the music sucks. I can’t say one good thing about it.

Rate:

D-