_{Starring: Judi Dench, Tom Hiddleston, Penny Ryder, Philip Jackson; Directed by: Chris Foggin; Written by: Chris Croucher; OFFICIAL WEBSITE}


Is it unfair to punish a film because it has a terrific cast but somehow manages to only be mediocre?

If so, then so be it.

It's hard not to admire A and B-list actors and actresses when they remember their roots and show up in short films, student films and other experimental and obviously low-budget projects. Judi Dench's toilet paper budget is probably higher on most of her films than the entire budget for Friend Request Pending, a 12-minute narrative short that weaves together the senior dating scene with a decidedly modern world.

In other words, we get old geezers playing all cutesie around that their new-fangled interweb thingy.

Okay. Okay. I'm exaggerating. It is, however, pretty difficult to accept the premise of Dench as a newcomer to technology given some of the roles she's tackled as of late. However, even more difficult is that this story line has been making its way around the world of short films for the last year or so now and this film, despite its star power, is likely the weakest entry.

Once in a while, you watch a film and think to yourself "If that film didn't have a celebrity, nobody would ever see it."

This would be that film.