Copyright Screen Rant
A hilarious short film is the perfect parody of how events like the Oscars can take celebrations of artists from complimentary into the world of the absurd. It's not uncommon for long periods of applause and celebration to accompany certain wins on the film festival circuit or in award season. Overdue recognition or a well-deserved win can be genuinely moving. However, it can also lead to some ridiculous moments where standing ovations become almost absurdly long. It's reached the point where the lengths of standing ovations at festivals can be used as fodder in discussions of award ceremonies. Two filmmakers noticed this trend and have produced one of the year's funniest short films exactly about that. Ovation Pokes Fun At Never Ending Standing Ovations Ovation is a silly but pointed short film that pokes fun at one of the standard tropes of film festivals and industry award ceremonies in general. Directed by Noam Kroll and written by Luke Barnett, the short stars Barnett as an actor who has just been announced as an award winner at the Cannes Film Festival. Standing up amid the rapturous applause, the actor is overwhelmed with emotion, at least at first. However, as the ovation continues and continues and continues, he grows increasingly exasperated with the situation. The short is a pretty fitting parody of the film festival and award season tropes, where accolades can go beyond complimentary and into the realm of the absurd. As the actor stands there and takes it all in, he gradually becomes more and more exhausted with the situation, even as the applause continues and the people around him continue to smile on pleasantly enough. It's effectively a sketch that relies on the same comedic rule that makes "the rake joke" from The Simpsons so memorable. The gag is that the sheer length of the bit is taken to such an extreme that it stops being funny, only for it to continue for so long that it loops back around and becomes hilarious. Barnett's performance in the short film is the perfect amount of unassuming and emotional, steadily transforming into quietly annoyed and bored. With award season upon us, ceremonies like the Academy Awards will likely feature plenty of standing ovations for major stars and their work. While the short film was specifically targeted to reflect the Cannes Film Festival (with Joaquin Phoenix's response to the lengthy applause he received during Eddington's inspiring the short), it also feels timely for the upcoming award ceremonies. While it can be moving to see an artist finally get appreciated for their contributions to the greater culture, it also speaks to the way that the film industry can get lost in the prestige and presentation. Ovation will likely serve as a good reference point as the award season goes on. Especially in contrast to how ceremonies will often unexpectedly cut off winners while they are in the middle of their speech, Ovation is a memorable, silly way to undercut the pomp and circumstance of the ceremonies. It's a silly and short reminder that the great artists and overwhelming emotion of award ceremonies can be a little ridiculous. If there's ever a moment during the Academy Awards this year when the applause seems to go on forever, just think of Ovation and how its actor just wants to move on with his life instead of being honored by his colleagues and peers.
