BEER AND ART
Written and Directed by James Mirarchi
Edited by Daniel GamburgArlene - Kerry Gudjohnsen
Sylvia - Radha LorcaBeer and art don't mix, they go together like sex and gonorrhea.
At least that's how James Mirarchi sees the world in his short film BEER AND ART. Personally, back in filmschool, some of my best work was done under the influence, but it's not the creation of art that Mirarchi is referring to - it's the sharing.
Arlene and Sylvia are co-workers who seem to share an attraction towards one another. The lesbian angle isn't anything Mirarchi dwells on, in fact it goes pretty much unstated, but the sexual tension is as think as concrete. No longer spring chickens, the girls know the game about as well as anyone as talk sex without actually talking sex. The actual discussion is about a poem Sylvia wrote, one she wants to share with Arlene but is far to nervous to do. Poor Sylvia has trust issues, she's been hurt one to many times.
When herbal release doesn't work, Arlene decides to use alcoholic uninhibitors. One way or another, that poem will be hers. But alas, beer and art don't mix. No matter how willing a woman under the influence might be, she can still cry "foul" the next day and land your ass in a world of hurt.
Down and dirty, the poem is one nasty piece of sexual vulgarity, and Sylvia delivers it with all the orgasmic bliss her inner she-demon can muster. Like the cliche says, it's the shy ones you need to watch out for. Arlene isn't ready for the beast she unleashed in Sylvia and retreats into a world of defense mechanisms, including blaming Sylvia for not being able to consummate their relationship. Ultimately, the event becomes another spoke in Sylvia's continuing wheel of rejection.
But poor Sylvia isn't having any of it. She'll kill before she's turned away by another woman.
The moral of the story is that beer and art don't mix, eventually someone's going to get hurt. In today's world we need to be sensitive to those around us. You just never know who's going to be a raging psychotic.
To their credit, Kerry Gudjohnsen and Radha Lorca make the most of their rolls by playing them straight. BEER AND ART is a black comedy that's made effective by the reality of the situation, winking at the audience would only undermine its satirical nature. Mirarchi does well to avoid the trappings of farce, something BEER AND ART could have easily have fallen into.