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★★★★
Directed by: #NicBarker
Written by: #JordanBarr, #DarcyKent, Nic Barker
Starring: #JordanBarr, #DarcyKent
It’s funny. You like funny things? Watch it? You don’t like funny things? Maybe see a therapist.
I suppose that’s not really sufficient as a review so we might have to pad it out a bit more. Jordan Barr is hilarious as a confused Amanda, just trying to set up her Wi-Fi. It should be easy, just plug in the two leads and turn it on, but it’s never that simple. Her frustration at the situation and the patronisation of Lyle from tech support quickly turns into a bold but blundering monologue about systemic patriarchal oppression. She’s not wrong, but as she explains the issues to her friend Sean, she quickly becomes more flustered and frustrated. The male characters in the film, both played by Darcy Kent, are so detached and unhelpful that Amanda is pushed into further frustration; she can’t even argue with them because they’re speaking in completely different languages.
Also detached is the style of the film, cutting between Amanda’s call with tech support, and her conversation with her friend afterwards. The camera is shaky and blurry and there’s a real sense of the confusion of the situation. Its unclear what is actually wrong with the Wi-Fi, and whether the issue is down to Amanda’s incompetence, or if she’s actually doing everything right, thus making Lyle’s condescending tone all the more frustrating. Of course, the issue at hand isn’t whether or not the Wi-Fi is working, but the general confusion and frustration at the whole situation. She reads the manual and does what it says, skims the Q&A to find out if that’s any help but it isn’t, then calls tech support only to be told the same stuff as the manual and the Q&A. We’ve all been there.
Meanwhile, the scene with her and her friend Sean reflects much the same issues. They argue about almost nothing, and never reach any conclusions, then the film sort of just ends, because of course there is no solution, just an endless series of micro-conflicts.
Before you start saying “well, if you love it so much, why isn’t it five stars?”. Ultimately, it’s a funny skit, and very little more. This isn’t a issue as such, but its not achieving anything ground-breaking or new. The main problem with the film though was that I just wanted more of it. It was bloody funny.
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