RUN ROBOT RUN! (Daniel O’Connor) Rating: NNN
Run Robot Run! is The Office set in the not too distant future. Writer/director Daniel O’Connor takes a simple premise – office worker seeks vengeance on the humanoid robot that replaced him – and fleshes it out with smart writing and winning performances.
In O’Connor’s sterile-looking world, lattes and small orders of fries are enormous and people wrestle in outfits that resemble huge oven mitts. The romantic comedy plot follows a predictable path that intersects with a buddy story, but there’s lots of inventiveness along the way.
What’s especially gratifying is seeing long-time comic and frequent Fringer Chris Gibbs on the big screen. His unique style of deluded Brit-twit humour works wonderfully here, and he’s got great rapport with co-worker Christian Potenza, who gets to show off some low-tech but high-laughs inventions.
Look for scene-stealing moments by other local comics, including Renée Percy as a harried worker and Sandy Jobin-Bevans as a smarmy, perma-tanned motivational speaker.
