Watching “Seth” was like a condensed version of a seven hour-long acid trip, I had no expectations and at the end I discovered it was something I never wanted to experience again. The absurdist comedy was less comedy and more absurd, making it a try hard version of your favorite British comedians.
The main character of Seth is struggling to impress his father who is a seemingly normal man dealing with a son who spends his time dressed in a tuxedo hosting a party for stuffed animals. Waking up everyday with the goal of impressing his father the short takes us through the journey of Seth trying to do just that through increasingly absurd tasks. He eats massive amounts of corn, creates sexy photo spreads in magazines and stages his own version of the godfather all in the hopes of forging a bond with his father. What does it in the end is their shared love of Michael Jordan which induces an over the top moment where Seth is so elated that he violently vomits up corn.
I don’t know if the film was meant to be a commentary on the growing tension between modern masculinity and old-fashioned ideas hidden beneath the smoke and mirrors of dance sequences to 80’s music and gross out comedy but until someone can explain it to me ill be blissfully unaware. I’ll be the first to change my tune if someone can explain to me what this film is supposed to be about but after watching it a few times I’m going to put up my hand and admit that I did not understand it at all.
There is no doubt that this film was shot expertly with crisp editing and clear cinematography that lent itself to the simplistic style that is in total contention with the subject matter of this film. If anything, this film is worth watching just so that when leaving the theatre you and your companion can have something interesting to talk about.