Raymond is a hopeless romantic, whose good guy persona has seen him taken advantage of, time and time again. However, his luck appears to change when he meets Cindy, a young, vibrant woman who seems to be looking for a real connection. Unfortunately for Raymond, her romantic interest harbors a dark secret in a desire for human meat and is luring men for the purpose of slaughter. As Raymond begins to charm Cindy though, she begins to push him away to save him from the fate that fell on previous suitors. Not one to be deterred, Raymond goes to Cindy’s house to confess his love, unknowingly putting himself in danger.
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Despite it’s morbid premise, “My Girlfriend is a Cannibal” unravels as a consistently hilarious, playful dark comedy. In part, this is accomplished by the actor playing Raymond, who brings a simple naive charm to his role. We see him as the ever smiling, full of good intentions, goofball whose biggest struggle comes from interactions with women. This constant state of aloofness offers up some of the best lines of dialogue, particularly in his interactions with Cindy. Overall, the dialogue thrives on character building as oppose to jokes, or trying to create a slew of quotable one liners, although there are a few lines that are gleefully memorable.
In complementing the performers, director James Lee‘s approach to the genre shows an understanding of comedic timing. Perhaps this is most noticeable in the dialogue delivery, which is presented in an atonal flow, which conveys the awkward charm of his protagonist. The visuals, although not having much flare, make good use of cuts to highlight absurdity in the script, and transitional shots that elevate any visual gags. For the most part, the technical execution is serviceable, but for a comedic short, the presentation suits the narrative.
“My Girlfriend Is a Cannibal” is a wonderful comedic gem, with some great one liners and strong performances, complimented through Lee’s direction. Being of a more calm reserve, comedy films don’t often make me laugh out loud when viewing solo, but the production did just that, which exists as the highest praise I can offer for a project of this ilk. With FilmDoo containing various free short films (With many more from director James Lee) it begs to be further explored, and “My Girlfriend is a Cannibal” is an ideal starting point.
