Andrew (Erik Potempa) works a menial job for which he doesn’t care. He shows up, he does his work, and he goes home; but there’s something keeping him around, and that is Carla (Jocelyn DeBoer). Carla is Hamilton Rice’s (Timothy J. Cox) secretary, and Rice is anything but easy to work for. One day Andrew is tasked with helping out Carla in order to appease Hamilton, and the task at hand will prove to be far more difficult than he could have ever imagined. Andrew’s day will quickly be turned upside down, all Over Coffee.
There is something fundamentally cute about the concept of Over Coffee. Guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, guy finds way to profess his love to girl. It’s been done so many times before, and while the execution has often failed to entertain, the concept itself is one that resonates with people around the world. Over Coffee flips the script on the usual romantic comedy and presents viewers with a uniquely fun journey. As the film begins to climax, there is a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off-esque sequence that makes everything worthwhile. The second act of Over Coffee is so much fun. In all of its simplistic glory, Andrew’s journey is one of a kind and allows the rest of the film the ability to find success.
I was so frustrated while watching certain parts of Over Coffee, however, as a result of the scenario in which Andrew finds himself at the coffee shop. Now, I’m conflicted over whether or not this is a result of subpar writing or of the ridiculousness of the story, and while I tend to think it’s a little bit of both, the scene in question may lean more toward absurdity. There are bits of this sprinkled throughout Over Coffee that make moments of the story feel too unrealistic and unrelatable. These moments hinder the overall entertaining nature of the film, and knock the film down a few pegs.
I very much enjoyed the sentiment present in Over Coffee. Again, while the idea of a man falling in love with a woman and doing all that he can to earn her love and affection is, to a degree, played out, Over Coffee still manages to remain fresh. One of the reasons this is true is Michael Oberholtzer’s David. He’s the corny, oddly charismatic office douche that manages to bring balance to the rest of the film. He makes crude jokes and causes the other characters to become uncomfortable at work, and, honestly, I found him somewhat endearing. He was the breath of fresh air that this genre of film needed, and he caused me to laugh out loud on multiple occasions.
Writer-director Sean Meehan’s ingenuity is the force that ultimately propels Over Coffee forward. However, there are some issues that exist within the film that antagonized me to a point of no return, and while they don’t necessarily destroy the film, there are moments when it becomes difficult to appreciate the nuances of what Meehan brings to the table. There needs to be more balance present in this short film, but the antagonistic nature of some of the ridiculous situations in which Andrew finds himself sometimes tips the scale toward something negative. I wanted to love Over Coffee with all that it had to offer, but in those moments of weakness present in the film I struggled to do so.
Written & Directed by Sean Meehan.
Starring Erik Potempa, Jocelyn DeBoer, Michael Oberholtzer, Timothy J. Cox, Mallry Portnoy, Kathleen Hefferon, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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