I love short films. The entire CyberMonkeyDeathSquad loves short films, that should be fairly obvious by now. I also love short film makers . . . gee, without the hyphens that’s a rather ambiguous statement isn’t it? I was going for the really artsy pretentious thing, where I lavished admiration for the artists who make short films, and instead I brought up this amazing visual of an entire sub-industry of midget film makers . . . and damned if that’s not all I can think about now. And wondering if Terror of Tinytown was directed by a little person. And it’s much cooler to bring up visuals of tiny directors than it is to spout artsy-fartsy bullshit. But I digress . . .

Ian Fischer, the brilliant short film maker (and you can work out the permutations of that statement yourself) who made Foet and The Magritte Moment, emailed me a few days ago to tell me about a short film he had seen recently called My Mom Smokes Weed, and telling me that I had to see it. He hooked me up with the writer/Director, Clay Liford. The first thing I did of course was to check out the guy’s Facebook page, saw that he was a fan of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and I immediately knew I was gonna like this cat . . . but I still have no idea how tall he is, and right at this moment that’s making me a little bit of crazy.

Clay hooked me up with a screener of his new short, the previously mentioned My Mom Smokes Weed, and I wasn’t disappointed. The film opens with an interesting rendition of one of my favorite Beach Boys’ songs (God Only Knows), done in a way that really sets a tone for what you’re about to see. From there it spins into a simple tale of a young man’s afternoon with his mother. A young man who is an incredibly uptight square spends an afternoon with his incredibly irresponsible mother. And I don’t think I’m giving away any spoilers when I say his mom smokes weed. Mom needs him to drive her to a buy, and things happen. You don’t need to know what things happen. You need to see this film and find out for yourself.

The film could have been a nice comedy piece with just the story, but it’s a bit deeper as well. The film carries a sort of “stoner comedy” veneer, but that covers an interesting story of an uncool kid whose problems weren’t helped by having a too cool mother. Or you could see a mother who caused her son enormous grief with her inability to respect boundaries. And that’s cool. The film does not insist upon itself. Or maybe I think too much. Either way, I loved it. And I felt good at the end. Growth happens. Maybe sometimes you have to light up to lighten up. Oh damn . . . maybe the film DOES have an agenda. I guess you’ll just have to watch it and find out for yourself.

My Mom Smokes Weed has already been in several festivals, and Clay is waiting to hear from a few more. Keep your eyes open for this. Ask for this at any festivals you’re planning to attend. You’ve gotta see it . . . and tell me about it. And now I’m gonna go watch it again.

Here’s a trailer for you. This is not the movie. It’s a short, but it’s not this short.