What if the horrifically forgettable show “Reaper” got wasted one night and found itself on the wrong side of town with “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”? What if after more than a few drinks, one thing led to another, and the next morning brought with it more than just a horrible hangover and a lifetime of regrets.
The bastard love child between these two shows would pretty much sum up the premise of the short “Speak of the Devil” directed and co-written by Michael Caissie. Caissie keeps the story moving, gets some solid performances from his cast, and doesn’t try to get too cute with the somewhat simple premise.
In keeping with the similar story line of “Reaper”, one that involves the owing of a soul to a less than holy being, “Speak of the Devil” doesn’t exactly scream originality. However, adding the crude humor and overwhelmingly shallow character traits found in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” does make “Speak of the Devil” more prone to actual laughter.
The poor fool indebted to the devil, Ryan, is daftly played by Timothy Mahony. I wouldn’t venture to say that there is actually a straight man to lead us through the chaos that ensues, but Mahony’s Ryan is about as close as we are going to get. He’s handsome, charming , and posses admirable comic timing.
Ryan sold his soul to save his dying friend Tucker, played by co-writer Charles Huttinger. Mr. Huttinger bares it all (literally I might add) and is able to land a few laughs as the overwhelming dimwit of the group. Tucker and Pete, the final member of the duo played by Jonas Sansone, certainly call for the age old saying, “with friends like these…who needs enemies”. Sansone is natural and fluid in his performance, his subtle interpretations of the humor allows him to steal more than a few scenes.
The Devil, good ole Beelzeebub himself, is played by polished character actor Michael Cornacchia. Cornacchia performance is well layered, and as his comic timing goes, so do the scenes. Mr. Cornacchia effortlessly breezes between the empowered Dark Lord, and a bumbling idiot desperate for the friendship of this retarded trio. His performance is so strong, that it unfortunately seems out of place in this average piece.
When the closing credits rolled at the Los Angeles screening I attended I felt “Speak of the Devil” provided a satisfactory delivery of what I had expected from this comedy short; a simple story line with a few laughs. Mr. Caissie didn’t re-invent the wheel here; he just got in the driver seat, and safely drove us down a familiar street.
