On a day off from his duties, a dissaffected suburban dad connects with a skater kid who reminds him of his lost youth in Zach Weintraub’s Assets & Liabilities; presented as part of the Seattle International Film Festival 2026, along with the short film The Last Cinnamon Roll.
Have we not all looked back to our youth with nostalgia for the more carefree teens and slightly less carefree but still loose and available 20s? That’s the crux of Assets & Liabilities, Weintraub’s kinda-cringe comedy: how our looks back and attempts to reconnect might not fully get what is expected, and the now can come crashing in, in slightly absurd and supernatural ways perhaps.
Zach Weintraub, producer, writer, and director, plays a man named Zach Weintraub, and using at least his own daughter as well, indicating we’re looking semi-autobiographical, working things out, bouncing around the head and soul, tells a tight (61-minute) story of an uncomfortable look at life, nostalgia, and the now. Zach is approaching middle aged and while he loves his time with his family, including a 3-year-old daughter, he looks forward to the times of the past, of being alone, with little to worry about. Let me say, though, despite the nostalgic lens of turning back to the 90s (as also nostalgia tapping in The Best Summer), I am the happiest I’ve ever been right now. At 44, with a great wife and an amazing 5-year-old son, every day is a huge joy; nothing better than being a dad. Ahem, I digress. His family goes out of town for a night, so what a way to 1) get things done, as there is ALWAYS a to-do list, and 2) lounge the hell out, alone, and enjoy the peace in his Tacoma, Washington (yes, for us SIFF folks, down the road) home.
In doing so, we follow Zach’s low-key (until it’s not) day via Weintraub’s confident direction and hilarious but true performance. He’s a man slightly uncomfortable in his own skin and place in life, going about the needed adulthood but not connecting (an early phone call with a bank, audible speaking an important matter has him visually playing lazy computer games). In his underwear, he cleans, catches up on things, masturbates, and just chills. But he also returns to his choice skatepark from 25 years ago, after feeling perturbed by a “hey” to the young kids there now, and given a look. Has he lost his touch? Have I? I’m a teacher, in classrooms with teenagers every day, and I can feel the separations as much as I might hate it. I feel young, I’m 44, not too old in the modern era. Or am I? Thus, that’s why Zach hits the park. There, he meets a young skater who reminds him of himself at that age. A bond is formed, and youth is connected. Until a big wrinkle, one that is really awkward to deal with, presents itself. Weingraub keeps his little slice relatable and interesting. There’s a comfortable placement in the uncomfortable. It’s a lived-in oddness, without flourish or going too hard to get a reaction, especially in the final upping of action.
But it also gets weird. Not instantly so, but enough to elevate past the awkward, edging on cringe of the two lives and wants crashing. Weintrab, with full control of his space, uses a few methods in camera work (with co-cinematographer Matthew Shenafet) and shot choice to get into the headspace of his character, setting an odd note within. But the main oddity comes with perhaps a bit of supernatural spellcasting that… works? It’s a strange turn, but I like it; increasing Zach’s uncomfortable uncertainties to a higher level.
At such a short length, one does wish Wientraub had expanded on some of these aspects more, but I also appreciate the succinctness. So it’s a double-edged sword, remaining tight and controlled in the narrative but also finding an awkward length, an hour falls into a strange valley between long-short film and a full narrative length, so maybe it’s my brain’s conditioning for standard story length in watching a movie feeling off (although I’ve watched plenty of hour-long anthologies, but that’s different). But then again, it’s a film that matches that feeling, so maybe the right length to get that uncomfortable feel.
Written, directed, produced, lensed, and starring Zach Weintraub, Assets & Liabilities is a wonderfully odd slice of homegrown ennui and oddity, with a dash of horror. Weintraub is excellent in all the roles, crafting a strangely compelling little odyssey of self-actualization. Assets & Liabilities is presented as part of the Seattle International Film Festival, running May 7th through 17th, 2026. See more at siff.net/festival.
Assets & Liabilities is paired with a short when watching in theatres at SIFF! 
The Last Cinnamon Roll (USA, 9m, dir. Michael Langan)
Linked to Assets & Liabilities with the ideas of losing oneself with age and connecting to the lost youth in strange ways, but far more absurd. At the closing of a mall, a dad, Mike Leffingwell, getting the frazzled desire so well, wants to take his kids to get a treat from a favorite food court vendor. But it’s not going to be easy, with a young kid in arms, another on the chest, and so many issues. It gets weird, with a fantastically hilarious performance from character actor Will Hines as the cinnamon roll vendor (and a voice performance by Reggie Watts!). Does well to set the mood for the feature, even if the feature is closer to the chest.