Tranquilizer season

In this season of frantic shopping behavior, a bit of understanding about the motivations of others can be very useful. Let this serve as a cautionary tale and public advisory about the dangers lurking in parking lots.

This short film does an excellent job of demonstrating so much of what ails us. It also has some moments that left me wheezing. The best humor is often based on some element of truth, which this has in spades.

What follows will be spoilers, so go watch it.

Here are a few things worth paying attention to:

• The silly christmasy jingle in the background.
• The catty reactions of the players as things escalate.
• The observer reactions.
• The rip off of the classic duel viewpoint(s).
• The woman with the shopping cart in the final sequence (it adds a wonderfully skewed perspective).

I'd love to know where it came from. I'm guessing it was made in the mid to late nineties ('97 or so based on the Mustang plate) but the where and why are elusive. It seems too expensive (they did a good job of trashing $30,000+ of automotive hardware) to have been the product of a small shop trying to create a something for their portfolio. If you've got some ideas, do tell.