galenhoward82

Loose Shoes (AKA Coming Attractions) is an uneven collection of film trailer spoofs in the vein of Tunnel Vision and American Raspberry (and contains a number of the cast members from both films). The majority of the sketches settle for stale bathroom humor and come off horribly dated. The film nearly redeems itself at the end with the brilliant Cab Calloway send-up "Dark Town After Dark," from which the title is derived. Both affectionate homage and topical satire, it makes you wonder how the rest of the material got in the door. The few celebrity appearances read only as curios and lack the punch to bolster the film on the whole.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a great appreciator of short films and short film collections. Any collection of short films presented as a feature presentation is going to run high risk of being uneven, but I'm able to judge it solely on the sum of its parts. And in this case, the sum is woefully meager. Each film is thinly plotted with ludicrous or non-existent conclusions. The distributors clearly scrapped together any short film they could find with a familiar face, and use those names to market the assembled product. They have two other collections that follow this same principle. Its obvious the distributor has no appreciation for the short film form and is just looking to make a quick buck. That in itself is a greater offense than any of these forgettable shorts alone. Anyone seeking a quality short film collection would be better served by any of the recent Oscar-nominated short compilations, or the web site Short of the Week.