My Boo: Review. By Robert Ewing.
My strange addiction, pun intended, is a TLC dating show. 90 Day Fiancé is the crème de le crème of the TLC catalogue. Seeing couples form unbreakable bonds and develop a new life in the US or to realise that the romance is based on lies and miscommunications, so when they start living together, chaos erupts. 90 Day Fiancé is the definition of incredible entertainment. What has this got to do with the short film My Boo? Well, presentation-wise, My Boo takes on a documentary-style approach, and it’s also like those TLC shows narratively. It tackles an unconventional relationship combination of a human and a spirit to hilarious, yet it’s also sweet with a relatable message.
My Boo follows Jessica (Jessica Faust), who is being interviewed by a documentary crew. We see Jessica sit down next to an empty chair and proceeds to discuss how she met her partner Wallace (Juston Oller). Jessica Keeps addressing someone in this chair that is empty. Then, suddenly, it is revealed that she is dating a spirit that only she can see. Throughout the short, we learn what it is like to be dating a spirit from the highs to the ghostly lows.
At its core, My Boo is about being true to ourselves when in a relationship. Drastically changing who we are just to make our significant happy leads to toxicity in a relationship. This is explored mainly through Jessica being asked to wear a sheet. It is a way to validate that Wallace is not crazy and that her partner is there, as, without the sheet, no one can see Wallace.
My Boo clocks in at just shy of 8 minutes, and it covers so much in that such small-time frame that every second feels like it is adding to its narrative. No moment is wasted. Whether it is adding to its core message or just being funny, this short is surprisingly hilarious. When it is revealed that Wallace is a spirit, it is hard not to wonder if I am meant to be laughing or horrified. Seeing how others interact in their relationship and what they get up to in their free time reminded me so much of those TLC shows that it felt nostalgic.
Jessica Faust Is wonderful as Jessica while other actors are on screen. The short mainly focuses on her and heavily relies on her performance to make the shorts core concept work, and she nails this role. However, what allows the short to flourish into this wonderful work is the strong script and direction by Stephanie J. Röst. The last time I saw a film that was equally as funny and poignant was last year’s Hong Kong comedy Say I Do to Me (Dir: Kiwi Chow), which also took a similarly wacky concept and brought a real seriousness to it.
My Boo is a truly wonderful short that I wanted more of. When the credits rolled, I laughed and was enlightened by what had transpired. I never thought that I would care for a human and invisible spirit relationship until I saw this.
4 Stars / 8 out of 10
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