Police officer Arnaud eulogizes his mother at her funeral by singing and dancing to the Bruce Springsteen song "Thunder Road".
Cast
Jim Cummings as Jimmy Arnaud
Kitty Barshay as Funeral Director
Francesca I. Biasiolo as Crystal (as Francesca Biasiolo)
Melissa Papel as Carissa
William "Will" Daubert as Police Chief (as William Daubert)
Production
Cummings wrote the film over two months on his commutes to work at CollegeHumor. The film cost $7,000 to make, of which $2,500 was renting the funeral home.[2] He sold his wedding rings to help fund it.[3] Cummings did not license the song "Thunder Road" prior to its screening at Sundance. Springsteen later viewed the film and enjoyed it, and agreed to license it for online distribution for $1,000.[4]
Reception
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[5]Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]
The film was awarded at the Sundance Film Festival with the Short Film Grand Jury Prize, being called "a mini masterpiece of writing, directing and acting".[7]Short of the Week called it "funny, inventive, and thought-provoking" and "the toast of this year’s American festival circuit-",[8] and IndieWire listed it as one of the best short films ever made.[9]