Dimpton (Cole Jaeger) is about to become an adult, but that’s the last thing in the world that he wants. Dimpton, while in the body of a young adult, acts like a young child, unwilling to come to terms with reality. The Best Birthday Ever is the story of Dimpton, as told by Dimpton about, you guessed it–The Best Birthday Ever. This is the most twisted birthday you’ve ever heard about.
When I read the synopsis to The Best Birthday Ever before watching the film I had an idea of how things would play out–twisted, unique, uncomfortable–and, boy, was I right. As The Best Birthday Ever plays out, viewers are taken on a journey so demented and deranged that it seems apparent that writer-director Jaeger did all of this intentionally. His purpose wasn’t just to entertain through some ridiculous comedy, but rather to truly make his viewers uncomfortable in the process. He’s incredibly successful–and I struggled throughout every single moment of the film as a result. As much as I disliked the fact that I was uncomfortable, and the visuals themselves were borderline disgusting, the fact that Jaeger is able to accomplish his goal is quite wonderful.
Regarding the aforementioned discomfort that extends itself throughout the film, I want to talk about one very specific instance: the glue and McNugget fiasco. As this scene plays out I felt both nauseated and amused. Nauseated by the simple fact of what was occurring, but somehow amused by the fact that, again, Jaeger is able to reach viewers in this fashion. He’s original, and completely one-of-a-kind; he’s a mastermind of sorts to be able to draw up scenarios like this, and that’s a testament to his unique genius. That scene is the epitome of what The Best Birthday Ever is–a twisted mess of uncomfortability.
Jaeger and his cohorts are silly throughout The Best Birthday Ever, but I honestly think that’s what the group is going for here. They want ridiculousness, and they want to entertain their viewers in unique ways. The Best Birthday Ever was created for the NYU High School Film Festival, not necessarily to entertain the masses, but the reality is that every filmmaker creates content with the hopes of entertaining and/or teaching. I think that The Best Birthday Ever possesses qualities of both an entertaining film and an educational film–which can sometimes be difficult to pull off. In a weird way The Best Birthday Ever manages to entertain its viewers through its absurdities, but I think that the fact that it’s able to educate is ever more impressive.
The sad reality is that there are people in the world with mental health issues that feel uncomfortable in their own skin. Dimpton clearly feels unhappy with the fact that he is growing up and struggles to come to terms with the fact that he can no longer enjoy the simplicities of youth (at least this is the way it seems). Whether Jaeger’s intention or not, he sheds light on the fact that individuals like this exist–and The Best Birthday Ever transitions, ever so slightly, into an educational film of sorts.
As previously stated, I’m not entirely sure that Jaeger had a specific intention in mind when developing The Best Birthday Ever, but the reality is that he touches on a potentially sensitive subject and manages to entertain viewers in the process. The Best Birthday Ever is antagonistic, and that in itself is a feat–but the fact that I believe discomfort to be Jaeger’s one goal means that he has ultimately been successful in his endeavors. The Best Birthday Ever manages to possess a juxtaposition of juvenility and maturity, finding the film success.
Written & Directed by Cole Jaeger.
Starring Cole Jaeger, Timothy J. Cox, Scott Schuler, & Drew Gannon.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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