Baked Beans

What if you had to rush the consumption of your beans on toast? And what if your boyfriend seemingly forgot about your birthday? But most importantly, what if these two unrelated occurrences coincided with gastronomically disastrous results?! These are some of the amusing questions which Remone Jones’ new five-minute comedy Baked Beans poses to its audience. The film tells a simple story of one woman’s unfortunate encounter with circumstance. We begin with the appearance of the titular beans on toast – a meal which our protagonist Tameka slightly begrudges, because she should be doing something sweet with her boyfriend Liam on her birthday. But it’s not as simple as that – her boyfriend, in fact, has not failed to remember, and has something planned for the special day. The beans, however, pose an obstacle. It’s a tonne of fun and incredibly watchable; a well-formed comic piece.

 

The performances featured in the short are absolutely terrific due to the confidence of the actors. For how heightened and humorous the movie is, the characters are completely believable. Oddly it’s through their big, expressive use of vocal expression that brings the performances both a hilarity and a realism – we believe in our protagonist’s annoyance in her boyfriend, and, in turn, her embarrassment come the film’s payoff. I’d also like to mention the authenticity of the opening conversation between our main character and her friend. The dialogue is funny in a satirical sort of way; you can feel that the scene is being used not only to convey information but to establish the silly but endearing tone.

 

The cinematography is strong, and also demonstrates a similar sense of amusement. Specifically, the opening shot – that of a perspective shot from inside the can of beans – shows a high level of inventiveness. Then again, in terms of the negative, one might question the use of the widescreen format. When viewing the camerawork and direction, it almost feels as if the compositions might have been even more interesting were it to adopt a more conventional 1.85:1 format. This kind of visual style doesn’t require an extended frame, and prioritises clarity over complexity; so, the black bars are just cutting off visual information as opposed to adding to the aesthetic. For clarification, though, this is a really well thought-through movie in terms of its look, even if a couple of choices don’t entirely translate.

 

The best thing about the audio and music is its consistency. An intelligent use of sound design comes towards the story’s end when the main character is given noise-cancelling earmuffs to wear by her boyfriend while he sets up the surprise. A wonderful attention to detail is how the sound itself becomes muffled as well, and then fades back to being clear and sharp when the earmuffs are removed. Not only does this place the audience in the sensory perspective of the individual, but it also leads into the final joke of the film which everything has led up to. Beans on Toast is based around joke structure and elegance, and having the viewer experience a pleasingly elaborate setup before the payoff.