Omeleto | COPY THAT | Omeleto @Omeleto | Uploaded September 2024 | Updated October 2024, 15 minutes ago.
A photocopier comes to life.
COPY THAT is used with permission from Margaret McGoldrick. Learn more at https://causewaypictures.com.
A new photocopier arrives at a company. Some workers are nonplussed by the new arrival, but office manager Brian is enchanted by the machine, impressed by its productivity and ease of use. He gives it a nickname of Trixie and an affection that his co-workers tease him about.
Curiously, the machine seems to return the affections of Brian and those workers who are kind and encouraging to it, while giving more hostile ones a harder time. But when one skeptical but ambitious worker conceives of an enmity with Trixie and a nefarious scheme to get ahead, the copier takes action.
Directed by Margaret McGoldrick and written by Maura Campbell, this quirky comedy short is a send-up of the oddities and peccadilloes of work life and office culture, as explored through the perspective of a photocopier that sees and hears everything -- and has plenty of opinions about the people who work there. Workplace comedies often take advantage of a set-up that flings together disparate personalities and then amplifies the stress and petty politics, making for humorous explorations of human behavior and relationships. But a sentient copy machine adds an especially whimsical touch that pulls the film outside the contours of observational comedy into gently surreal territory.
At this particular office, by-the-book Sara, flighty mean girl Celine and slacker Justin all work under the auspices of their benevolent manager Brian, who immediately takes to the new TRX-1 copy machine, which he nicknames Trixie. The co-workers spar, quibble and joke with one another, in sly, short scenes with a droll wit and a teasing eye for the absurdities of office politics and busywork. But the copy machine slowly insinuates its way into this group, as Brian takes a shine to Trixie, even sharing a rhapsodic moment or two with "her." One of the writing's most clever gambits is how Trixie is endowed with a personality -- not necessarily through self-expression (though she has some very AOL Instant Messanger-like emojis on her screen) but through her reactions to the various personalities around her.
The cast, led by actor Barry John Kinsella as a sincere and besotted Brian, all portray distinct personalities while falling into the awkward and dry comic rhythms of office life, and each worker has a specific relationship to Trixie. The one between Trixie and Celine -- played with actor Tanya Shields with a delightful snideness -- was never peaceful, but when Celine angles for a promotion and will go about in unsavory ways to get what she wants, Trixie finds a way to save her beloved office manager from Celine's schemes. Trixie's heroic efforts spin COPY THAT into slightly darker comic territory, though the film never loses the deadpan lightness of tone that was woven throughout. It makes for an amusing, snappy and entertaining office comedy meets fairytale, with its own unique take on "happily ever after."
A photocopier comes to life.
COPY THAT is used with permission from Margaret McGoldrick. Learn more at https://causewaypictures.com.
A new photocopier arrives at a company. Some workers are nonplussed by the new arrival, but office manager Brian is enchanted by the machine, impressed by its productivity and ease of use. He gives it a nickname of Trixie and an affection that his co-workers tease him about.
Curiously, the machine seems to return the affections of Brian and those workers who are kind and encouraging to it, while giving more hostile ones a harder time. But when one skeptical but ambitious worker conceives of an enmity with Trixie and a nefarious scheme to get ahead, the copier takes action.
Directed by Margaret McGoldrick and written by Maura Campbell, this quirky comedy short is a send-up of the oddities and peccadilloes of work life and office culture, as explored through the perspective of a photocopier that sees and hears everything -- and has plenty of opinions about the people who work there. Workplace comedies often take advantage of a set-up that flings together disparate personalities and then amplifies the stress and petty politics, making for humorous explorations of human behavior and relationships. But a sentient copy machine adds an especially whimsical touch that pulls the film outside the contours of observational comedy into gently surreal territory.
At this particular office, by-the-book Sara, flighty mean girl Celine and slacker Justin all work under the auspices of their benevolent manager Brian, who immediately takes to the new TRX-1 copy machine, which he nicknames Trixie. The co-workers spar, quibble and joke with one another, in sly, short scenes with a droll wit and a teasing eye for the absurdities of office politics and busywork. But the copy machine slowly insinuates its way into this group, as Brian takes a shine to Trixie, even sharing a rhapsodic moment or two with "her." One of the writing's most clever gambits is how Trixie is endowed with a personality -- not necessarily through self-expression (though she has some very AOL Instant Messanger-like emojis on her screen) but through her reactions to the various personalities around her.
The cast, led by actor Barry John Kinsella as a sincere and besotted Brian, all portray distinct personalities while falling into the awkward and dry comic rhythms of office life, and each worker has a specific relationship to Trixie. The one between Trixie and Celine -- played with actor Tanya Shields with a delightful snideness -- was never peaceful, but when Celine angles for a promotion and will go about in unsavory ways to get what she wants, Trixie finds a way to save her beloved office manager from Celine's schemes. Trixie's heroic efforts spin COPY THAT into slightly darker comic territory, though the film never loses the deadpan lightness of tone that was woven throughout. It makes for an amusing, snappy and entertaining office comedy meets fairytale, with its own unique take on "happily ever after."
