When a young man is presented with a minivan as a gift on the eve of his wedding, it seems to manifest all his doubts and worries about moving into a new stage of his life – one of commitment, stability and conformity with what is expected of him by others. Having a bachelor breakfast at a strip club where a dancer offers some rather on-the-nose observations, Shane feels overwhelmed by what he is about to do.
The ol' 'cold feet on the wedding day' theme here but one that manages to be familiar in a genre style way while also having a certain amount of charm and wit to it. The minivan is presented in a looming fashion as it represents Shane's worries, but at the same time it is kept central to the film – in particular the second half, so it is not just a device in that way. The narrative pretty much goes where you expect it to and as a result it is credit to the writing and delivery that it doesn't feel stale or overly familiar but rather stays enjoyable and light in terms of what it is doing. It is a fine line though and I will not suggest it manages to walk it perfectly for the whole short because certain parts of it are a little genre-clunky, but mostly it works.
The direction is good, with a sharp professional feel to the camera work. The cast are mostly pretty good at selling their lines. Bendavid and Wilson have the heavy lifting to do and they are not as good as would have been liked, but Reale and Bridges are fun in support and they add to the light feel of the piece. Overall, although it is a genre piece, it is mostly a good one, with a light touch, clever writing and generally a charm and wit to it that made it easy to enjoy.
