In Thomas A. Smith's 9-minute romantic comedy short C.U.P.I.D., Jack (Khristian Fulmer) finds himself facing a platoon of determined high-tech Cupids determined to steer him towards  his soul mate whether he wants to head that direction or not.

C.U.P.I.D is a rarity in that it's a silent film, a film that depends upon the broadly drawn physical expressiveness of its cast and upon the simple yet amusing story that Smith has concocted. There's nothing necessarily brilliant here, but what is here is rather endearing, sweet and, yes, occasionally rather funny. It helps that Fulmer is able to sell the comedy with his expressiveness, his eyes occasionally wild-eyed and his body lending itself easily to the film's slapstick comedy and silliness. While no one will mistake this for Chaplin, it's entertaining enough that it should have no problem finding a home on the indie fest circuit.

Soren Odom's camera work is light and playful, while the film's original music elicits memories of slapstick from years' past. The film's supporting players all get into the spirit of things, and after an initial impression that these young Cupids reminded me a lot of Kevin Smith's demonic hockey players from Dogma I found myself surrendering to their youthful hijinks.

The recently completed C.U.P.I.D. is currently in the process of being submitted to film festivals, where it should easily be accepted as a rather unique comic alternative to your usual dramatic indie fest shorts. For more information on the film, visit the film's website linked in the credits.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic