Dir. Amanda Dow (2022) A pop star is taken on the ride of his life when he’s picked up by a cab.
CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
The second short from writer Harker Jones, One-Hit Wonder is about an aging pop star who never achieved the heights he hoped to attain. Short films always interest me because of their ability to take an idea and boil all of its great elements into a tiny package. They’re not a lot of investment to watch, they don’t usually take a lot of mental energy to digest, and you can really appreciate the ideas present without being too worried that the creativity that drives those ideas will be lost along the way. One-Hit Wonder is a great example of this, because, while it doesn’t have enough substance to be adapted into a feature, it’s perfectly suited for a ten minute run-time as a Twilight Zone-esque short story.
The short is excellently acted, especially by Andie Ximenes, who plays the ex-musician Ellery DeMarco. The self-contained story that takes place almost entirely within a cab really allows the characters to tell their story, which is a devastatingly sad tale that is all too common in the music industry. The writing is fantastic as well, creating a short story that is compelling and interesting all the way through. As I said above, the ideas are very much there, and it’s nice to see one that is fully fleshed out in such a tight package. Absolutely worth a watch, and it’ll be hitting film fests soon.
