Goldenbox
by Anastasia Bogomolov
What do you get when you mix the likes of two ex-frat guys and the need for harebrained adventure? The answer is GOLDENBOX – an awkwardly simplistic, albeit at times entertaining – attempt at reliving the adolescent fantasy of being James Bond; tux, guns, camaraderie, and Russians intact. The short, directed by Matt McDonald, is far from a unique take on when comedy meets action, but what the 16-minute spoof lacks in originality, it wins back in editing and cinematography – achieving just the right amount of climactic sequence with sharp close-ups and speed. And the acting isn’t awful either.
GOLDENBOX opens with a bang. The sound of a ticking time bomb engulfs the scene, and we see a man in tuxedo (played by Chris Hayes) holding a gun James Bond style in some abandoned warehouse. As the tension builds and the eye of a red dot secures its place on the man’s tux, the anticipated shootout begins. The action scenes here are well shot and believable, and the impressive entrance of a sniper (played by Johnny Wactor) lifting his mask and revealing a steadfastly alluring (in a bad guy robotic sort of way) stare as he proceeds to fire at tux-man, creates considerable anticipation for what’s to come. Unfortunately, once the bomb explodes, and we’re lead back to reality (it was all just a game – GOLDENBOX, GoldenEye, duh), we find that our Tuxedo Man and Sniper are actually Jeff and Tucker, two rather stereotypical post-grad BFF’s (with Jeff as the more mature of the two in the process of landing a job in Russia – the irony, and Tucker happily freeloading in his parents’ basement) engaged in your usual guy banter – complete with horndog innuendos.
The script that follows strides on awkward as it aims to stage and explain the title – GOLDENBOX – with superfluous humor and apparent intent of filling up space: UPS schedules Tucker’s GoldenBox for incineration, and when Tucker proceeds to question why, the UPS man answers, “There was a ticking in the box…911, Sir. Never forget…I will not support terrorism.” Sigh. Such aimless chitchat continues to fill space that could’ve, would’ve, should’ve (prime example of when a single synonym works – aka, less is more, especially in this already short, short) otherwise been used to exploit the potentially entertaining take on when friend rescues friend, and all in all well-rounded cinematography. Undeniably, this film has potential, and because of this, I’m tempted to critique it as if it wasn’t a student film – and that in itself says something.
