Easy Sell

An unsuspecting charity shop customer becomes embroiled in a deadly game of fate and chance, as they find out that the only way to leave, may be with more than they bargained for.

It’s a lazy afternoon in the charity shop. Outside, the sun is shining, but on the inside it’s unseasonably dark and gloomy. Baz (Casar) has only just come in for a shoe-horn. After quickly finding something that’ll sort him out, Baz eventually finds that he’s the only one in the shop – he can’t even find the shopkeeper. There’s something not quite right about this little charity shop. There’s something eerie going on. In fact, the charity it’s funding might as well be called the Mogwai Protection League.

It seems the enigmatic shopkeeper (Ladwa) has been hiding under the desk all along, and after quickly popping up to serve Baz, he becomes very shifty and suspect in his manner. Suddenly, the centrepiece wedding dress in the middle of the store becomes the topic of interest, and the shopkeeper seems very insistent that it’s just the very thing for Baz to take away with him. Subterfuge and intrigue are scattered around to widen the narrative a little, along with the hint of a voyeuristic dementor who’s in charge of the whole affair. Now Baz must think on his feet, fight for his life, and channel his inner bride, if he’s to get out of the charity shop alive.

Told in a short seven-minutes, Easy Sell is a one-shot chamber-piece dramedy that’s a bit of throwaway fun. It runs through its set pieces nice and quick, and even if we’re only moving from the counter to the middle of the shop, we feel each new scene as separate from the last, with each having its own point of view and dialogue setup, as though it were a three-act play. The intrigue gets exposed and expands in a typical way, with no surprises coming from the scenario or the dialogue, all the way up to the glaringly obvious twist at the end. The humour that sits alongside the drama keeps things light and entertaining, with both leads doing a good job of playing things for laughs, even if they are genuinely few and far between.

The music from Sean Fitzgerald also keeps things light and jaunty, with its kitschy muzak tones contrasting with spooky piano and strings during the darker moments. The direction, too, from co-writers and directors, Ken Abalos and Ash Meshkati, is solid but fun, getting the right angles to create an off-kilter feel, while also making sure to capture the comedy moments from the actors. As a quick comedy sketch, Easy Sell is just that. It’s quick and easy and not hard to recommend for a little bit of fun. It’s well made, and well played, and even if you only watch it once before punting it onto someone else, Easy Sell is well worth the price you pay for it on YouTube.