Man About Town

Kris Issacson has made a very funny and original movie about a mans last night of getting wasted. Although it is very funny, it is also sad at times. It reflects the characters pathetic life, and how he is trying to rise above it. But for one last night he will accomplish what he has lived most his adult life: alcoholism. Man About Town is one of the best shorts I have seen.

"Man About Town" is easily one of the best short films I have seen. It is funny, knowing and touching. The film captures a night of drunken debauchery perfectly. It is amusing, gritty, poignant and soul-searching all at the same time. I highly recommend it.

MAN ABOUT TOWN is a well-written short, gracefully narrated by scribe-actor Matt Gunn. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the sequences with the girls and the angry bartender. If anyone has ever attended college or lived in New York City or gone on a heavy drinking binge, MAN ABOUT TOWN will make plenty of sense. The black and white film, jazz soundtrack, and beat-like camerawork adds a perfect sense to the piece. Gunn is good at what he does. An older (perhaps more evil) Holden Caulfield that indulges himself in a world of fantasy, trying to find love through the misguided world of alcohol and society, he grabs the viewer and sucks him in. Still, I think the short got a bit long winded at times and could have used a few minutes trimmed off here and there.

***** Five Stars (out of five)!!!!

"Man About Town" is a must see short illustrating and describing the descent of an individual into the depths of alcoholism. It is especially engaging because of the juxtaposition of the alcoholic's view of himself against those of everyone else he has contact with. The film is extremely well written and is amazingly perceptive, witty, funny; and at the same time pathetic and "sobering". Also has a Great sound track. Overdub of first person narrative over the video is especially effective too! Loved this. I strongly encourage anyone reading these comments to rent this movie. Although I am a film buff, I seldom buy a DVD, as I figure I can always rent a movie again (and I almost never repeat a viewing of a film often enough to warrant buying the DVD). This one is an exception. I bought the DVD.

It is available on the DVD entitled "Park City" released in 1999. There are 4 other shorts included on the DVD, and 3 of the 4 are pathetic, with one other short being "just OK". Despite this, the DVD is worth owning for "Man About Town" alone, truly high praise since the running time for the short is about 20 minutes.

I actually googled it today to see if i could find it. i had to download it long ago on some video player that no longer exists.

The reason I like it is that it actually has correlated with times in my life. it illustrates a modern 20 something year old in the midsts of a drinking binge with high intentions and ambition yet is faltered by the temporary confidence of booze. there is the promise that tomorrow will be different when getting rejected, yet tomorrow never comes.

the rejection not only is in women but work, women, happiness and life itself.

there is tremendous realization in the last few lines:(paraphrased), 'how did i go from being some cute kid to laying on some dirty apartment floor?' where he wonders "where was the crossroads in life which i went left when i should of went right?"