ADULT CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: A Darkly Comedic Short
In an age of technology where services like 23andMe have become more prevalent, and everything you’d ever want to know is at your fingertips online, it’s inevitable that we’re bound to face hard truths about our past, or that of our families’. With Juliette Fairley’s newest short film, Adult Children of the American Revolution, we’re brought face-to-face with such an experience in a dramedy that’s as funny as it can be uncomfortable.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Smarty Blue (Matrell Smith), a young man searching for answers about his family, meets with a genealogist Hattie (Fairley, in a delightfully eccentric performance) to learn about his family’s past. He only has information going back to 1900, but Hattie’s able to learn that he has ancestors going back to the Mayflower, but with a large gap in his tree. Unable to proceed, his options are to take a DNA test, which gives him pause, or contact relatives, which leads to an unproductive conversation with his great-uncle Moses (Dominic Marcus). Hattie also informs him about an upcoming genealogy conference and recommends he download the ancestor search app (there really is one for everything!) before attending.
We rejoin Smarty as the conference wraps up, when host Oakley Gleed (Jack Garrity, who beams with an almost evangelical zeal) informs the group of the best part: They’re able to look at the app and find out if anyone in their family tree is in the room with them. As everyone chatters and searches for long-unknown relatives, Smarty is approached by Betsy (Lisa Tracy), a white woman who is the last person he expected to be looking for him. Sure enough, they appear on each other’s apps, but not for the reason either were hoping for.
A Dramedic Look at a Hard Truth
It takes a special kind of mind to find the humor in dark and difficult situations, and in the case of the scenario posited by Adult Children of the American Revolution is just such a situation. With the rising popularity of genealogy and ancestry services, this will no doubt happen again and again, and in fact Fairley’s own experience is what inspired this short film. Each featured cast member gets their moment on-camera, from Fairley’s quirky, scene-stealing turn to Smith’s reserved comedic timing and expressions to Tracy’s comic gestures and piercing pronunciation of every consonant.
In just under seven minutes, including credits, she has created a funny and engaging story, and I need the next installment. Do Smarty and Betsy go out for coffee later? Does she insist on paying and makes a tone-deaf joke about reparations? The world needs to know.
Adult Children of the American Revolution will make its East Coast premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival on Thursday, November 9.
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