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SHORT FILM REVIEW

GENRE: CELEBRITY/COMEDY

DURATION: 14 MINUTES

RELEASED: 1998

IT’S GOOD TO TALK takes a painfully realistic look at the familiar notion of ‘a breakdown in communication.’ The film follows the lives of four people, each showing the frustrating effects of life through the telephone. Arriving at the phone as it cuts off and the mumbling distortion of arranging a date are just two scenarios which provoke feelings of sympathy and understanding from the viewer.

Written and directed by Roger Goldby in 1998, this fourteen minute production earned him a nomination at that year’s Academy Awards.  In spite of the film’s global success, Goldby has failed to produce a significant number of works from the genre.  Although he took on the role as Director in 2000 for HEARTS AND BONES  (a seven-part one-hour drama), it appears that the success of IT’S GOOD TO TALK did not convince him to continue producing short films. A brief look at the cast will show how Goldby wanted recognised stars in the film. MEN BEHAVING BADLY’s Martin Clunes along with Comedian Sean Hughes head a distinguished line up.

Despite receiving an Oscar nomination and boasting a high profile cast, some of the events which occur in the film leave a lot to be desired. By attributing feelings of suicide to a character, as the effects of disjointed conversation, Goldby has stretched the limits of what the viewer will deem as credible.  These concepts are made slightly more believable by the short being a comedy, allowing Goldby more scope with what the audience would class as realistic.

Goldby’s obvious intention was to form a relationship built on the concept of familiarity within the film. The character of Sean Hughes, who remains nameless, is evidence of this. Having spent the best part of ten minutes on hold in an automated queue, he finally moves along to number one, as he yells “How can I be number one in a fucking queue?!”

Although the film is a comedy, being of a genre which isn’t renowned for its attempts to drum home poignant and hard hitting messages, I did find the film thought provoking. Goldby’s decision to use irony for the title shows how that in some circumstances, it clearly isn’t ‘good to talk’ and more ‘good to leave the phone in the cradle’.

Being a comedy, the film succeeds in its aim to make you laugh. However, it also allows the viewer to relate to the events, making them feel a part of what they are viewing. The film features a relatively simple and perhaps mundane plot, but is one which focuses on everyday behaviour. It cleverly shows how misinterpretations and impatience can make a whole call worth regretting. JG