Small Film, Big Laughs
Artie and Slacker Pals Strike Back
What do you do when you and your slacker friends find yourselves in the middle of an inter-dimensional war that you don't understand? For Artie (Ed Radmanich III) and his pals, the answer was simple: grab some guns and start shooting. While the plot of Artie Saves the Hood is simplistic and a little silly, it offers a good laugh or two.
Directed by: Ed Radmanich III
Written by: Ed Radmanich III
Starring: Ed Radmanich III, Jason Brown, and Victoria Walters
Rated 
Running time: 33 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 6 out of 10.
Artie Saves the Hood is a short film, written and directed by Radmaninch. It concerns an average guy who -- like his friends -- seems destined to obscurity. Instead, his life takes a weird turn when a nearby garage becomes a dimensional exit for storm troopers in an war across time and space. The whole thing might sound like a strange school project if not for the fact that the special effects are halfway decent.
The plot of Artie Saves the Hood is a typical video-game fanatic fantasy. Imagine if, instead of playing a first-person shooter, you actually had the opportunity to take on some bad guys and mow them down. For Artie and Mason (Jason Brown), fate drops an opportunity right into their backyard. Their friend Manny (Manny Marmolejus) is killed by some inter-dimensional storm troopers who have used Manny's garage as a gateway to this dimension. They are hunting a girl (Victoria Walters) who speaks a strange language and seems intent on running from them. Unsure what's going on, Artie and Mason decide to help her with the aid of a magical bar of green soap that seems to open doorways to other dimensions. Yes, it's weird, but it's also darn funny.
Unlike many independent short films, Artie Saves the Hood understands the limitations of the medium and plays them for laughs. A dream sequence involving Artie fleeing the bad guys uses flying cardboard boxes for spaceships (it makes sense once you watch the extras on the disc). Likewise, there is no attempt to explain many of the random craziness. When a blue bar of soap shoots lasers and catches the wall and ceiling on fire, it's just for laughs.
While buying a DVD for a short film may seem excessive, even when it's relatively cheap, the extras on the disc are a treasure. The Artie Guy and Jay cartoons are weird and very funny. Even if Radmaninch doesn't make it in film, my wife thinks he has a future on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
You can find out more on the film's official website: www.artiesavesthehood.com
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