UNSTOPPABLE SHORTS BLOCK 1
Director Camille Wormser has a lot to say about mental illness, and uses that as a platform to stage what is such a funny, and unique comedy short. “Just Right” feels like one of those short films that could be transplanted in to a feature film, but for now, it works as a short form comedy about coping with mental illness and working with OCD as an element of life that stifles personal connection.
After having a striking dream where she’s running down the street in a duck costume, Mel wakes up feeling compelled to do something different with her day. Her roommate Kyle is going out with friends, and Mel wants to join. Kyle, skeptical because Mel usually must follow her routines, tells her she has to meet him by 1pm or he’ll leave without her. Mel has plenty of time, but as she starts to get ready her OCD makes every decision feel like life or death, setting her on an absurd race against the clock.
The highlight of “Just Right” beyond the direction is the keen acting ability by Camille Wormser as protagonist Mel. From the moment we meet her, she’s a charming, eccentric individual who submits to her impulses and OCD. There’s not a lot of explanation for why she shares a room with her best friend, only that the two relationships she has in her life keep her grounded. Or about as grounded as one can possibly be with OCD.
Wormser is so good in her performance, going back and forth between hilarious and cringy, and submitting to every tick character Mel has. There’s a really funny scene in a coffee shop where she’s having trouble picking a drink, and a silly dance sequence that Mel intends to use as a way to loosen herself up. But with the time running out on her date with her friend, the OCD becomes more of an obstacle. Thankfully Wormser keeps the narrative light and Mel always sympathetic, and while it does end on an uncertain note, I was pleasantly pleased with what she’s created here.
The Slamdance Film Festival runs Digitally and In-Person from January 20th to January 29th.