“Dirty Books” is really one of those short films that could have benefitted from a longer format, or at least twenty more minutes of story. On its own, it’s a pretty solid drama comedy about a young students’ last grasp to instill some sense of relevance and popularity in his soon to be defunct school newspaper. Noah Bailey plays David, a young reporter who is called in to his principal’s office to discuss the inevitable death of the school newspaper.
In an effort to make his paper popular again, David begins planting material for news all over his school. This includes altering school books in the library and planting pornographic material within the pages. Not only does this ensure a fire in the school allowing David to offer scoops on these developments, but it also gives the school a chance to read his paper and perhaps save it from being axed. When the principal (Timothy J. Cox) catches on, there’s a slick game of cat and mouse that begins, and hilarity ensues. “Dirty Books” is a fine short comedy with a neat premise that tackles how far people are willing to go to draw an audience to their work.
It also reveals what kind of low brow attractions garner a massive following and how tough it is to appeal to thaw lowest common denominator. I think the film could have stood to add much more emphasis on character and provide a wider arc, but considering what Lapierre has to work with, “Dirty Books” is a worth watching. The performances are very good, the tone is entertaining, and I enjoyed the premise overall. I wouldn’t mind seeing this turned in to a feature length film someday, and I hope we can see more from Zachary Lapierre.