Myrna The Monster
directed by Ian Samuels
starring Kathleen Hanna
I don’t get a lot of shorts to talk about, but this one showed up at the local film fest as well as via “other channels.” It’s a heartfelt story of Myrna (voiced by Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill), an oddly charming puppet. She was kidnapped on the moon and brought to earth; they screwed up her life yet didn’t even do any science on her. Her life is tough, jobs are scarce and an audition gig turns out to be a porn shoot. But she learns to dance and goes to the dessert to “figure shit out (and stuff)” returning with a goal that is almost a given: she’ll stay here and work things out.
Myrna is played for pathos; the puppeteer (Victor Yerris) manipulates her caricatured body with a painful shuffle. The shoes may not fit but they are all she has. Middle aged and fading, she’s got a duck bill and a wart on her head but a positive attitude and a willingness to take small risks. She also has one good friend, and that as good as a whole support group. This short is making the film-fest circuit, and is a charming approach to the modern figure puppeteering. There’s also cell animation by Ethan Clark and a fitting sound track by The Boys of Yacht. I’m not sure if the crew is aiming for a full length, but if they are has the depth to carry it. Her acting skills are rough, but her pluck is the stuff of Disney fairy tales.
This short is part of the 2015 Florida Film Festival.
