Pizza for Carter

A man experiences hallucinations while waiting for his girlfriend to arrive.

A young man named Carter (Amador) is at his home and he is expecting his girlfriend Rachel (Aiello) to arrive shortly. It is their second date and he has a bottle of wine ready and has ordered a pizza. He is also rather nervous about how things are going to unfold and begins imagining that he is seeing people who are not really there. Will he be able to distinguish reality from fantasy?

With this interesting and amusing short comedy, filmmaker Flaherty tells a story that bears similarities to his previous film Dinner with Gov and that is mostly due to the fact that the plot involves imaginary characters. Pretty much the entire narrative takes place inside the home's living room and begins with Carter by himself, waiting for Rachel. As his hallucinations start to take over, more and more 'unreal characters' enter the scene and they include Rachel, Carter's housemate Shawn (Shepherd), the pizza delivery man (Harrison Doyle), a homeless man (Thompson) and Carter's ex-girlfriend (Bree Mignano). It is implied that the individuals that arrive, do so because they are coming from Carter's subconscious, which is making them up due to the stress that he is feeling.

Arguably, the most entertaining aspect of the film is Amador's performance, how he tries to maintain his sanity and interact with each individual as they show up unexpectedly one by one, eventually creating a small crowd. Generally, the atmosphere is humorous and the imaginary people appear more or less cheerful. Overall, the performances are great and each character brings amusement to the party.

Director of photography Caleb Yellin-Flaherty does a great job with the cinematography and the beautiful song Still Got Paris by Ty Simon was an excellent choice.

This fun short film explores the anxiety that a person is going through just before a date, revealing the emotions that he is experiencing. It is a very well made film that grabs the viewer's attention with its intriguing plot.