[NEohioPAL]LAST CALL CLEVELAND FILM WOWS LA AUDIENCE

[RICK FERGUSON]

It was 11pm and the crowd of ooh I dunno, a dozen?
packed into the 100 seat I.O. West theatre on
Hollywood Blvd. to see this evening's collection of
short films from some of LA's top independant film
wannabees, and one celebrity. (Well Chris Farely's
brother Kevin, does that count?). The night got off to
a rough start as host Paul Preston's new film didn't
have any sound on it, even after every techy in the
audience tried to get the VCR to work. Alas, we will
have to wait for that gem. Suddenly, to fill the
awkward void, Last Call Cleveland's short film
"Escalator" was in the lead off spot. The lights
dimmed, and the screen lit up. We were treated to a
wonderful parody of disaster films. Three people stuck
on an escalator with no way out! This superbly written
script by Mike Polk, LCC's mastermind had the huge
crowd roaring in the aisles. With dead on performances
by Polk and Chad Zumock, they propelled the film to
new heights of comedic excellence. Cleveland's own
Jessica Joy Kemock also did a wonderful job as the
poor pregnant woman giving birth on the stranded
escalator. A perfomance so subtle and poignant, it is
no wonder she was cast as Paula Abdul in American Idol
reject William Hung's "She Bangs" video. Jef Etters
and Aaron McBride as the trapped business men,
desperately trying to get through this ordeal were
excellent as well. 

Six minutes later, the credits rolled and the audience
burst into a smattering of applause. LCC showed L.A.
what good comedy should be, and this was only
re-enforced with the screening of the remainder of the
 films that evening.  From a man having relations with
a lobster, to pyscho clowns  beating up mimes, none of
the other entries approached Last Call's calibre. 

They proved that there may be a lot of people in L.A.
but that doesn't mean they are any more talented.  I
hope this band of  Mid-West yuksters continue to
infiltrate the Hollywood community with some truly
funny, smart material, it could really use it!

Quotes from the audience:

"Dude, get out of my way", Kevin Farley. Celebrity
"Do you have any more?" Paul Preston.  Host
"Can we leave now?". Roberto Serrini. My Ride.




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Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can do. DB