I'm Short Not Stupid Presents: 'Day 37'

It’s been 37 days since Sgt. Baker and Sgt. Mallory landed on Mars. The two astronauts are charged with maintaining the Abix International data-tower on the desolate red planet. The only problem is that they have run out of things to talk about. Maybe they had interesting discussions during the first 36 days, but now it’s just shit—literally. There’s maybe one line in the six minute film, which spans the whole day, that isn’t about Mallory’s bowel movements. It seems like a tough sell to say this short is smart, imaginative, and inventive, but it is. What's more relatable than pooping?

Writer and director Dylan Haggerty nails this low-budget film by juxtaposing the monotony of trivial work against an exotic locale. It’s hard to believe that one could be in outer space and instead of marveling at the scope of human achievement, you'd talk about the minutiae of crap. What the film does best, and the why I love it, is the simplicity of the overarching joke: just because you’re somewhere interesting, doesn’t mean the things you say are as well. Dylan pairs a jabbermouth with a guy who doesn’t say a word and shoots the film as though there were on-site camcorders with sepia toned stats and readouts. The claustrophobia it creates gives the sense that Sgt. Baker hasn’t stopped hearing about Mallory’s every movement for a moment. There are sweat beads on his forehead as dirty words fall from Mallory’s mouth. On Day 38 something mean might happen and I can’t wait.

Dylan Haggerty is an actor with bit roles in Con Air, Spongebob Squarepants, Interview with an Assassin, Seinfeld, and more. He also wrote the 2007 film Smiley Face directed by Gregg Araki, which is awesome. He made Day 37 back in 2003, where it was pushed by Wholphin DVD and a number of other places. He also made another short the same year called Questions & Answers. 

Jeffrey Bowers is a tall mustached guy from Ohio who's seen too many weird movies. He currently lives in Brooklyn, working as an art and film curator. He is a programmer at the Hamptons International Film Festival and screens for the Tribeca Film Festival. He also self-publishes a super fancy mixed-media art serial called PRISM index.

@PRISMindex

Previously – 'Next Floor'