Prolific low-budget indie director Alexis Ramirez brings us his latest short film CREDITS AMONG FRIENDS. Written by Stephen Olsen, this single location outing centers on a small group of friends meeting up for their regular “bad movie night”. When one of the friends brings their new girlfriend Julie (played by Dominique Alessi) a new dynamic is introduced into the group.

The movie tries to delve into some deep topics centering on the “male gaze” in the movie they’re watching together. They also present a somewhat unique scenario in which this small group, most of which have dated each other at one point or another, are still able to be friends and hang out without petty jealously and anger. Julie upsets the apple cart a bit on that end, as her current relationship, and a secret one with another of the friend group throws the evening into turmoil.

The writing is pretty solid and topical. The direction and cinematography are lower quality than many low or micro budget movies we see tend to appear. The director’s choice in making a film that takes place in one location is a smart one (although there is a movie within the movie that takes place in several locations).

The audio on this is roughly mixed. Sometimes the music drowns out the dialogue, and anyone speaking offscreen is clearly not mic’d or ADR’d after-the-fact. It drags the overall production value of the film down.

There is a fun part that celebrates being in movies, and no matter how bad the movie is, that the fact that one gets to participate at all is something to be celebrated, and that’s how I feel about this movie at the end of the day. Regardless of the quality issues, it got made, and I’m watching it, and I hope that the director and everyone involved is proud of that accomplishment.