Bob Being Curious

Bob Being Curious

Bruce Von Stiers

What if you feel you're invisible to the world, you're infatuated with the woman who lives across the street and you think she might be in danger? Well if you're Bob Cooke, you will want to try to find a way to help the neighbor.

That is sort of the premise for a new short film called Curiosity. The film is a comedy with some drama folded in. It takes a quirky guy and gives him a situation that could prove to be very rewarding. Or could possibly be very disastrous.

The viewer learns that having suffered a loss, Bob finds himself at odds with certain things. He's a letter carrier for the post office. But he's had complaints lodged against him. And he feels that people really don't see him and that he's invisible to most of them.

And then there's Holly, the woman who lives across the street. Bob thinks they both like the same things. But does Holly really know he exists? Does she even know his name? She has men come to her house a lot. What is she doing there?

After observing an incident between Holly and a man at her house, Bob feels Holly must be in danger and he just has to help her out. But is Holly really in danger? And how is Bob going to be able to help out?

Besides Bob and Holly, the other main character in the film is Dustin. He is Bob's friend who comes over and could possibly help Bob plan to help Holly. But, again, is Holly really in danger?

Bob Clendenin plays Bob. He's been in some feature films, but has mostly been seen in television shows such as Cougar Town, The Neighborhood, Call Me Kat and Head of the Class. In his role in this film, Bob evokes a mild strangeness that fits well with the character.

Eddie Steeples is Dustin, Bob's friend. Eddie has been in a Chipmunk film among others and recurring roles in Raising Hope and The Guest Book. He's best known for his role as Crabman on My Name Is Earl. Here,Eddie plays Dustin as a kind of edgy guy, full of energy with a Jimi Hendrix type hairstyle including the headband.

Kirsten Gronfield is Holly. Kirsten also had a recurring role on 10 Items or Less and has been featured in several short films. Kirsten's role is perhaps the most understated in the film. She has a few lines, but is mostly seen in a housecoat sitting in a chair on her lawn or ushering men into her house. But there is the one scene with that guy that makes Bob think that Holly is in danger. We find out during the film that the guy is Peter Walker, someone that Dustin knows. Joseph D. Reitman plays Peter. He's noted for his role as Very Bad Santa in the show Happy! and a creepy dude in an episode of The Punisher

John Lehr is the voice on the other end of a walkie talkie conversation with Bob. Apparently this guy is Bob's boss or something. John played a sheriff on Quick Draw and had a recurring role on 10 Items or Less. Erik Goodrich, Speed Walton, Cheakaity Brown and Dylan McEvoy all have walk on roles in the film. Erik was also one of the co-producers of the film.

James Sunshine directed the film. He has been a producer on several reality shows, including Project Runway, MasterChef USA, Big Brother and Hell's Kitchen. And a feature film he directed, Coronavirus Conspiracy, has just been released. The cinematographer was Massimilano Trevis. He has been a camera operator on shows such as Ray Donovan, The Deuce and All American.

Tasha Hardy wrote the screenplay for Curiosity and was a producer for it. Her screen credits include producing The Big Picture With Kal Penn and episodes of Star Trek: New Voyages. .

Other people involved in putting together the film have had experience behind the scenes or in front of the camera, or both. Among those people were Erin Egan, Alice Wells and David J. Keogh.

Curiosity is an interesting film. It is a comedy, yet not a straightforward one. Most of the scenes have a comedic touch but somehow also have a slice of drama mixed in. The acting was well done, without overdoing things on either the comedy or drama.

I really enjoyed Curiosity. I would have liked some of the things brought up during the course of the film to have been explored a bit further. Things like what is really going on with Holly and why Bob is the way he is. But then again, this is a short film.

Curiosity is not currently available. It is being submitted to several film festivals though. Those festivals include Sundance, Berlinale and SXSW. You might be able to catch it at one of those festivals. The film will be officially released at a later date.

If you are curious about Curiosity and want to learn more, visit the film's official web site. That site can be found at https://curiositythefilm.com/

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