Big Time

Produced, Written & Directed by Geofrey Hildrew

By Derek Rose

The Los Angeles based Geofrey Hildrew definitely chose the right name for this short film when he went with "Big Time."  Starring Matthew McGrory (Big Fish, House of 1000 Corpses, Bubble Boy), Michael J. Anderson (HBO's Carnivale, Mulholland Drive Twin Peaks), Debbie Lee Carrington (Return of The Jedi, Total Recall, Men In Black, Austin Powers 3), Curtis Armstrong (Risky Business, Better Off Dead, Revenge Of The Nerds) and Jenni Pulos (Showtime at The Apollo) the cast alone is big enough to deserve the title.

The film begins when hardware store manager Richard Blunderbore's (Matthew McGrory) desire to enter showbiz as a stand-up comedian is frowned upon by his parents, Henri (Michael J, Anderson) and Gizzie (Debbie Lee Carrington). The fact that Richard is a giant leads them to believe that the only thing his audience will laugh at is his size.

This theory rings true when failing agent Margaret Maxfield (Jenni Pulos), attempts to persuade Richard into performing his stand-up act at Amateur Night.  Booed off the stage, Richard is lured into performing for the sleazy Zamboni (Curtis Armstrong), owner of Zamboni's Famous Freaks to pay off a contractual debt left by his parents.  It seems thirty years prior, Henri and Gizzie were managed by Zamboni at Coney Island before escaping his grasp.

Once on the Famous Freaks lot, Richard learns that his fate is to be laughed at while under the top simply because of his size.....fulfilling the fears of his parents.  

When Richard decides it's not what he wants after his first performance Zamboni reminds him once again of the contractual obligations of his parents that he's fulfilling.  What Zamboni doesn't know is that Margaret, Henri and Gizzie are all on their way to change the course of Richard's career in showbiz.

The twisted, yet comedic plot has all the potential to make it to the big screen some day.  Geofrey's ability to pack it all into a half-hour short film is quite surprising.  The professionalism with which he created the project is only one of the reasons you should put aside some time to take a look.  Although you won't have time to finish off a large popcorn, I think you'll find it as time well spent.

You can contact Geofrey Hildrew at: geh9@columbia.edu 

or check out the official website at: www.bigtimemovie.com