ZAPINOS | Omeleto

A man buys a card. Dustin is going to buy a rare Pokemon card, and he has arranged to meet Robbie for the sale. From the very beginning, the transaction seems awkward, starting with a zany Uber driver. But things get really wacky when Robbie enters the picture. He's messy, weird, awkward and strangely needy, and Dustin can't wait to leave. But Robbie is easily distractible and very unwilling to let Dustin leave. Robbie is desperate for company and friendship, and he hopes Dustin will be his friend. Now Dustin must use his wits to extract himself from the situation, as Robbie gets more desperate and unhinged. Directed and written by Matt Bruggeman (who also plays Dustin), this quirky, unpredictable short comedy is a uniquely modern snapshot of loneliness, desperation and connection, with a level of lunacy ratcheted up to ten and a sneaky grounding in emotional truth. The title is a mispronunciation by Dustin's Uber driver of the Zapdos Pokemon card that Dustin hopes to buy, and it's apropos to the film's modus operandi, which essentially compounds one mishap after another until they reach comedic critical mass. The narrative is essentially about one man taking another prisoner, but it finds comedy in the collision of a seemingly normal man with a wildly eccentric personality. Essentially a shut-in, Robbie is erratic and strange, rattling around a house full of takeout containers and Dance Dance Revolution. He doesn't get much human interaction, and from his point of view, he wants to maximize his time with Dustin, stalking him on social media and trying to make him an instant friend. His efforts only intensify as Dustin tries to reason and then outright escape the situation, propelling the narrative in directions as unpredictable as Robbie himself. As Robbie, actor Josh Warren really goes for broke with his performance, making his character awkward and outrageously uninhibited by social convention. Bruggeman as Dustin is the straight man, the anchor of relative normalcy who is increasingly alarmed by Robbie. But Robbie is also genuinely isolated and lonely, and while he will go to undeniably creepy ends to fulfill his desire for friendship, the storytelling understands his emotional needs and treats them with understanding, all while ratcheting up the suspense and danger as Robbie goes to extremes to make Dustin be his friend. Well-paced, entertaining and an all-around wild ride, ZAPINOS is understanding of how our need for connections can fuel neediness and create regret with our inattention to them, all while poking fun at how weird things can get without them. The story can veer wildly from the madcap to the heartfelt, but it's essentially how two people grapple with their need for connection: how they want it, fail it and try to make it better. Some efforts are more effective than others, but we're all sincere in our desires. ZAPINOS. Courtesy of Matt Bruggeman at https://instagram.com/mattbruggcomedy .