Short films matter. Vimeo wants you to know it. So do we. That’s why every week we’ll take a look at some of the short film world’s best and brightest. This week, we bring you Christopher Good’s anti-romantic comedy Brad Cuts Loose.

The Plot: A passionless office drone tries to break out of his funk by realizing his wildest fantasy.

The Film: Everyone has a fantasy. That’s one of the reasons movies exist. Like a good movie, a good fantasy can lead to unexpected places. See Brad Cuts Loose.

Why Press Play?

The film’s central fantasy is very … specific. But Brad Cuts Loose isn’t one of those artsy films about a passionless man fulfilling his wildest fantasies. Rather, Christopher Good spends much of his film undercutting the very idea of fantasy fulfillment. In doing so he spins an insightful, absurdist yarn that examines the pathos of human wants and human needs in a society where almost any need can be met.

Again, what Brad (Kentucker Audley) wants is … specific. What Brad needs … less so. He hates his job. He doesn’t know how to connect with people. And his shrink, well, she’s not quite as helpful as she should be. Still, it’s her advice that sets Brad’s journey in motion. That advice involves Brad fulfilling his wildest fantasy (which really is a doozy) and leads him to a local company who offers just the service he wants.

There he meets a sultry, no-nonsense receptionist (Tipper Newton) with a few fantasies of her own. Where Brad Cuts Loose heads after that meeting is altogether unexpected. It starts sort of sleazy. It’s awkward and it’s funny. And in the end, it’s surprisingly sweet.

It’s that mixture of the tawdry and the tender that makes Brad Cuts Loose such a rewarding experience. Good balances the mixture with a deft bit of scripting that skewers office culture, psychiatry, technology and society’s incessant need for instant gratification with a casual sort of grace. That grace is matched in the esthetic energy of his leads Audley and Newton. The pair’s impassioned anti-chemistry lends Brad Cuts Loose an air of arbitrary honesty that you rarely see in films today. Good & Co. wholly embraces that honesty. And their film hits on oft-unexplored societal fissures in the process. Some of us may not want that. But most of us actually need it.

Meet The Crew:

Written, Directed & Edited by: Christopher Good Starring: Kentucker Audley, Tipper Newton and John Ennis Director of Photography: Jeremy Osbern

I hope you enjoy Brad Cuts Loose! Just FYI – now would be a good time to learn Christopher Good’s name. He made a splash a few years back with a dynamite little comedy called Mudjackin’. He’s been banging out shorts and music videos at a steady clip since. It’s only a matter of time before he makes the leap to a feature. Brad Cuts Loose is more than adequate proof that he’s ready to expand his storytelling. Until that feature materializes, you can catch Mudjackin’ and more over at Good’s Vimeo page. While you’re kicking about, check out some of the thousands of other short films – animated, live action and documentary – the Vimeo team have made available for your viewing pleasure (via desktop or mobile device – SWEET!). You’re sure to find something interesting. And you may just stumble across the next great filmmaker.

Bonus Video Essay!!!!

While you’re learning to love Christopher Good’s work, you should start digging on the work of Brad Cuts Loose co-star Kentucker Audley as well. He’s appeared in some of the past decade’s better indie projects (V/H/S, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Queen Of Earth, etc.). He also wrote/directed/starred in a fantastic little holiday flick called Christmas, Again a couple of years back. Anyway, Audley is a really talented guy. He’s got a wicked, insightful sense of humor. And that’s never been more on display than in the series of video essays he’s been posting to his Vimeo page. Here’s a little taste.