Gus (Brian Holden) and Kristen (Denise Donovan) throw a surprise party for old friend Joe (Joseph Walker), who has spent the last five years in outer space. Written and directed by Chris Allen. Follow me on Instagram @chrsndbrg
If you enjoyed my first short film, please consider watching my latest, "Last Ride to Liberty High": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
Or he wants to spread the word of God like the bible says to he could just want to know who was saved by it now im no super jesus freak and i dont go preaching on the side of the street but i do have my own beliefs so please dont hate me just cause im christian
+Noel Gonzales I didn't mean that at all. I just meant that the character was lying about seeing God, not that He's not real. Sorry if it came of differently :)
Whether or not Joe actually saw god isn't really important. What's important is that he left the status quo life and had an experience that changed his worldview. It's like your friend who went away to college and came back a fervent idealist, or your friend who traveled abroad and came back speaking in worldly platitudes. Or your friend who went to Burning Man for the first time and came back having found some ambiguous spirituality. You may question the actual substance of the change in their personality, but regardless, the change has happened. Meanwhile, Gus never left the status quo. He sees his own lack of ambition as pragmatic, but in reality he is afraid of change. He works in a movie theater because he likes movies. He dates his friend's ex-girlfriend because she is familiar. He blames his girlfriend for his position in life because he is unwilling or unable to accept responsibility for his own choices. Joe's return brings to the surface Gus's bitterness about his own life, which is at least partially justified in my opinion. How can he compete with someone who has literally been to space, and whom everyone believes has seen god? In the end, no one is really in the right or the wrong. Joe may very well be full of shit and only using his experience to selfishly make himself appear deeper, but maybe he's telling the truth, and what happened to him may as well be real, because it affected him in a very real way. Gus may very well be a bitter, envious prick who tears people down to feel better about himself, but maybe he actually is the only one to see through all the bullshit and it drives him crazy. If you liked OMG, I highly recommend checking out the film/play "SubUrbia" by Eric Bogosian, which explores similar themes.
I feel like Kristen is the worst out of the three, being afraid of change is natural, changing as a person is natural. But Kristen clings on to something that isn’t there anymore, it seems like Joe is just being nice and doesn’t want to hurt her feeling. Kristen clings to Joe, even though he chose space over her. She likes the idea of dating Joe, instead of the actual Joe. I’m not good at analysis type things so yeah.
The part about Joe telling Kristen that he was surprised but admitting to Gus that he was lying was a nice touch. Joe told Kristen what she wanted to hear while Gus told her the flat truth.
rockinrodney5000 No sorry maybe I worded it wrong. Gus didn't lie, Joe was the one who lied about being surprised. Gus told the truth at 0:36 and Joe lied at 3:57 and then admitted it at 6:21
Although everyone did a great job, I have to say that Denise just really stood out to me. In the absolute best way. Comparing this to her role as February in Starship has really made me take her more seriously as an actress. But really, great job to everyone involved. Proud of you guys!
Wow, Denise is an amazing actor, cuz man I hated her character from beginning to end in this vid. She played the star struck believer well. Boiled my blood when she said "Don't be selfish" in response to someone saying they're in pain and when she was smiling when Joe was freaking out. Just really freaking creepy to me. Well done for sure. This was incredibly interesting. Very well done short. The ending had me pondering for a good long while. I agree with hallucination thing, especially considering the way it was done.But there is so many things one could guess about what really happened to Joe. That or he was lying, the biggest key being that he once lied about being surprised, but then when asked what God said, he said "How many views did this have?" Actually, I'm more and more thinking he's lying. Specially when saying "He wants us to love each other" which is about a blanket statement as you can say.
She didn’t really believe in what Joe was saying, she just wanted to devote herself to and believe in him and his love for her. She’s a classic fanatic.
this is really under-rated and it's got such a great, open-ended ending, because different people would assume things. People who believe in god would think that at the end Joe saw god in the sky. Others might think that Joe died at the end, but I really doubt that because he's standing and that's a dumb way to end it. Other others might think like Lupi- sorry, Gus' later opinion and think that he's pretending to see god to make Febru- dammit, I mean Kristen not doubt him. Other other others might think like Junio- FUCK I mean Gus' first opinion and think that he's hallucinating god in the sky, which is what I reckon happened. Or maybe some people just think this video is a good place to make starkid references in the comments. Which it is. Thanks for reading this far. Bye.
This is actually one of the surprisingly deepest videos I've watched on YT. Surprising because right before this, I watched Starship, and while sure, you could say there's a moral in Starship, it's the ambiguity in this one that makes it good. The fact you have a love triangle where all three characters are relatable. The questions it leaves you with. Did he actually see God? Does God know where the library is? Is God a vicious two-faced prick? Maybe we're looking too deep into a short made by Starkid. Regardless, I like it! Terrific job!
There's a difference between what you want to hear/ believe and what you hope to hear/believe. Kristen wants to believe Joe didn't abandon her. Gus hopes he isn't losing Kristen to his best friend(again). There is selfishness on all 3 characters parts. They are focused on their own desires. On a side note, Chris Allen looks a lot like his British actor counterpart Marc Warren...
I spent a good hour thinking about the ending and I think my mind is broken now. I feel like Joe was lying about seeing God when he was in space, but at the end he actually did see God. Who knows?
+Julia Flora I know that the ending will mean different things to different people but I see it as showing that he's mentally unstable. I think that being in space did break him and he went a little insane. When he "saw god" he had a break down from what was happening to him.
Yeah, that's how I've always interpreted it. That Joe's character is mental but it's like he is the lie that everyone wants to believe in. It was like it didn't matter what Gus said because everyone (Kristen) most of all, preferred Joe and sort of hero-worship him. But also, the irony was that Gus said Kristen would never know what it was like to love someone who doesn't love you back, but at the end it showed that Joe was never going to look at her the way she wanted. He's fixated on the sky.
Brian Holden. Wow. Incredible acting. He really brings the story, brings the emotion, oh my I really don't know how to say it. Gosh the feels 05:01-05:09
was I the only one who was like oh my god shut up you did not see god! I was so mad that everyone believed him Gus was the only sane character here! Great short film though! I adore Brian and joe so much!!
I was expecting to have some sort of explanation and then it just had the video of freaking out lol "How do you know it's God?" "He's BIG!" I was like "Are you kidding me?"
All of these peoples are good actors. But I will admit my favorite is Joey Ritcher, and Brian Holden is up there too. His performance in this film is diffidently showing his skills in drama; where I had only seen him as comedic characters.
I feel so bad for Brian because every one just ganged up on him and the love of his life said he was being selfish when he wasn't, but this was totally awesome.
What really gets me about this, is the fact that Joe's character just shut down the other person who said they saw God. Like, he saw God once and decided he was an authority on the matter. And what makes me scream is that everyone's fawning over him, and when people disagree they just shut them down and refuse to consider their point. Really good acting, but not at all what I expected after watching Starship .-.
I think that people have many different reasons for believing or not believing in things, like God. Maybe Joe was feeling empty; maybe he felt like he went to space and that was the end, his dream was done, so he saw God, or "saw God", (who knows, right?) and that brought back some meaning. Whether or not he did see God, that was his truth. And maybe Joe's friends believed he saw God because they didn't give second thought to it, they had Joe back and they were willing to believe that anything was possible after seeing their friend go the distance. And maybe Gus doesn't believe in God because he prayed for Kris to love him, he prayed for Joe to come back and for everything to be normal like how it was, he prayed for a life that was exciting and worth living so he could say he did something worthwhile like Joe did; maybe when those prayers didn't come true, he gave up and became jaded. But all their reasons are reason enough.
“Hey, how many views does this have?” “God wants us to love each other.” “There’s always gonna be a naysayer” Ladies and gentlemen, the clearest and most dynamic representation of fanaticism. Also, how others are led into their paths. It isn’t God that Kristen believes in, it’s Joe.
Thanks for watching my first short film! Be sure to check out my latest, "Last Ride to Liberty High": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
This is so strange to see Brian acting so... sad and everything. It breaks my heart. This is when you can tell he really is a great actor. That man's gonna be big.
All I can say is, omg. What an incredibly deep meaning and a super cool short movie. Which is it; is he crazy? Did he see god? Is this about atheism vs. religion?
Ok I was NOT emotionally ready for the StarKids to act out really serious stuff, like Brian's bits legit tore my heart into shreds. We should all be glad they usually stick to comedy they're all really exelent actors and I don't think the world is ready for this level of emotion being portrayed
Elizabeth Rabinovich thank you so much for watching my short film! Feel free to check out my latest short, “Last Ride to Liberty High”, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
this proves they are amazing actors and I'd love to see more serious things from them. I love the comedy don't get me wrong, but every now and again it's nice to see serious things that make you stop and think or feel.
chris allen I love how deep and thought provoking this short is. The story, acting, music, camera work is just perfect. I was expecting something funny to happen but it never did, but it really is refreshing to see Starkid being serious. I was reading the other comments and I just think it is so great how people are interpreting this in so many ways and are being mostly civil to each other. Anyway, best wishes for the future! PS I loved you in HMB, AVPSY and ANI! You sure are talented! PSS it's 5:30 am and I have The American Way song stuck in my head
Hi, conspiracy nerd here! What if GUS IS GOD! What if he came testing to see how people perceive him/God. That all of the characters including Joe were all captured by the media and what others were saying instead of believing things for themselves. What if he set all of this up to actually have everyone question things instead of just believing it blindly? It's the classic temptation scenario, ya know? Maybe Joe is the "snake" within the situation. Gus/God could have been presenting everyone with the chance to actually think for themselves and be the one to oppose what everyone else is thinking. I mean the bible is just a collectively of hundreds of stories from all over the place from years of different people. So not only is it likely that everything in the bible is true, but also God didn't write it. God gave us the ability to think for ourselves for a reason.
Such an inspiring piece of film - the premise and script itself was incredible, but the cinematography really blew me away. That 'shaky' camera technique really enhances the absurd feeling of the film. The soundtrack fits perfectly too! I really hope we can see more work from Chris Allen soon.
Chris, your short film is amaizing! We just spend a whole hour talking about this incredible deep meaning - my english teacher is blown away:) Thank you, Starkids♡
okay all things aside.. being a starkid and a gleek, did anyone not notice that the space helmety thing Joe was wearing is the same one as what Kurt fr Glee was wearing in s6 when he sang that duet w Blaine..? something tells me Darren had a hand in this ;)
Also Joey richter guest starred in an episode. I think it was the one with the Adam’s apples. He’s only there for a moment but you can clearly see him if you pause.
Oh my God. This actually brought a tear to my eye. What even is this? I am legit questioning everything. What am I supposed to do now? God, Brian is SUCH a good actor.
internetbelle thanks a lot for watching my movie! Please check out my latest short “Last Ride to Liberty High”; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
Chris has always been in my top 5 favorite members of starkid but I didn’t know that he was also capable of creating such creative and thought provoking films like this.
P.Taylor wow! Thank you so much, you just made my day! If you haven’t checked it out already, you can watch my latest short film “Last Ride to Liberty High” here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
barbaro267 "a deep conversation about change and belief" That right there is probably the reason why. Religious faith is an inherently uncomfortable topic to discuss because of the myriad different degrees of belief out there and this short is deliberately ambiguous about where it stands. It's almost like it was designed to make people feel somewhat uncomfortable.
King Cranberry Joe’s great in this movie and I’m glad you liked it! Please check out my latest short film, “Last Ride to Liberty High” when you get the chance! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
I seriously am on Junio- WAIT NO SORRY Gus' side about this video. I personally think Volde-SORRY Joe went crazy and I don't think he saw God. I mean how would February and Draco believe that?
Theres a lot of amazing acting in this, but for some reason, Brian Holden really stood out to me. I'm so used to seeing him play the goofy, lovable-loser guys, but he is really good at playing an average joe, jealous boyfrend-type. Also, this was filmed really beautifully. The soft light, the close-ups, and the slow motion walking and glances. And the music was perfect for it. I could've watched for another hour! Looking forward to seeing more short films from Chris Allen.
after rewatching this after 10 years, i felt my perspective has changed drastically. i used to very much be on joe/kristen's "side" but now that i'm older, i feel gus' pain and understand his perspective, painfully, more. "don't be selfish, gus," punched me in the gut, leaving me genuinely feeling nauseas. a heart wrenching, yet enjoyable watch
I've been reading the comments, and it seems a lot of people have been misinterpreting it. I think that at the end, he was "seeing god" again, but really I think he was just pretending he was. Joe wasn't supposed to be the good guy, and I don't think he died. At least that's what I got from this. It was really good. Great job!!!
People aren't really misinterpreting it, they're just interpreting it differently from you. It's like a book or a song, or any other work of art. It's open to interpretation, and even if everyone has a different interpretation, they're all correct, because that's what it means to that person.
WhatThe Blah. It doesn't really matter what the author was trying to say, because if a person is religious then they may think Joe's the good guy, and there is no evidence in the short that one or the other is bad.
Not an Instrument thanks a lot for watching my first short! In case you missed it, be sure to check out my latest film “Last Ride to Liberty High”!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
"it just hurts, you know? Its like, you're never gonna know what its like to love somebody, and have them not love you back." "don't be selfish Gus." that really has to be the saddest yet most beautiful thing i have ever heard
Everybody is talking about how they feel bad for Gus/Brian's character so i guess my only question is am I the only one who thinks that he was being rude and even if Joes character was lying, why did he have to be the one to just ruin everybody's mood. This may just be cause I'm a christian but i enjoyed the possibility of religion side of this and while people "hated" Denise's character, i actually loved her character and yes i did feel bad for him because yes he did have a bad case of unrequited love but...i don't even know what I'm saying anymore i guess maybe I'm just another starstruck side character and I'm really late on this but I've wanted to say this since i first saw it but honestly i don't know maybe i took this the wrong way but i don't care because i took this the way that i wanted/needed to and i have wanted to say this since i first saw it but this is getting too long
i saw this when i was younger and it didn't make any sense to me. i had sort of fever-dream-esque memories of it, i remember Joe's helmet reminded me of Little Big Planet and the surrealism of that game. i came back to it now, and the feeling is just amazing. i dont know if Joe really did see God, but i like to believe he saw something. maybe he hallucinated, or experienced something traumatic that his brain formed into a vision of God, but whatever happened up there, it clearly changed him. i think at the end, you see how hes not right. hes unstable, and hes never going to be able to let go of space and whats out there. there's nothing here on earth for him anymore, because he's seen too much to ever go back to being someone like Gus. or maybe, at the end, he really did see God. i guess we'll never know, and i guess it doesn't really matter.
ALDERDICE thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts on seeing my first short again. If you haven’t already, feel free to watch my latest short “Last Ride to Liberty High”: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
It really does. I came for the Starkids, but I stayed because it's actually incredibly beautiful. It's deep, the story itself is extremely complex, the acting is phenomenal.
How can anyone dislike this?! This is an amazing short film! The music, the camera work, the story, the actors, the emotion, it's all amazing! Thank you for making this short film Chris. Hope you make more in the future.
God damn, Chris Allen. This film is a winner. I've watched it three times now and I'm impressed by all the thoughts it provokes. That's what short films are supposed to be about. Thank you
Watching this was really an experience. I don't quite know how to feel about this. I mean obviously most people will side with Brolden's character, Gus. He appears to be the most rational minded and is very easy to sympathize with despite his bitterness and inability to assume responsibility for his life choices. I know I do. But at the same time I kind of wish Joe DID actually see God and that the world is truly full of miracles. I don't know, it's so hard to explain? I'm very glad I watched this and know that I'm going to keep thinking about it for a long long time.
Manasi Khade I really appreciate you watching my first short and taking the time to write a thoughtful comment. If you haven’t seen my latest short film “Last Ride to Liberty High” you can find it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5w1sC391Ock.html
Anyone asking for "part 2" seem to misunderstand the beauty of a short film. We always want more, but in this case, the more can be found within the sweetness of the short lived abruptness of it all. This is lovely, and the music was stellar. I've watched it several times, and it's really helped me cope with some tough stuff lately. Chris Allen is a really wonderful writer. 3
I was laughing at parts of this that probably weren’t intended to be funny; I think I’ve just become programmed to laugh whenever a StarKid opens their mouth. Also, Lauren’s emotional acting in this _really_ moved me. (I’m still not sure what her character’s purpose is, but I love it.)
I just saw a verry potter sequel, and I can't help myself but think Lupin and umbridge are best friend, but after the fisrt couple minutes I'm like woah man that's deep
It's so nice to see that Starkids in a different form of acting. Normally they're all so goofy and out there, but it's cool to see them in a more dramatic, somewhat darker setting with more mature themes and conflicts. Proof that they aren't just comedy actors.
