Our film critic Colin Covert is in Park City, Utah, taking in the final days of the Sundance festival. He filed this item by email:
Edina native Annie Sundberg and her business partner Ricki Stern have presented some popular films at the Sundance Film Festival. Their 2010 entry, "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," went on to a nationwide theatrical release.
But it's fair to say nothing they have showcased at this snowbound smorgasbord of cinema has been as widely seen, or as enthusiastically appreciated as their latest, "No Good Deed ..." The two-minute short was a surprise for festivalgoers unveiled on Wednesday, Sundance 2012's "Volunteer Appreciation Day" honoring the 1,850 unpaid good Samaritans who keep the event running smoothly.
"No Good Deed...." shows a visiting hipster named Derek (actor Derek Walters) shivering without a coat as he waits for a ride outside the ornate Egyptian Theatre marquee. He's rescued by a pair of festival volunteers who offer him one of the high-visibility orange Kenneth Cole parkas that are the staff's uniform.
No sooner does he slip it on than a car carrying other volunteers speeds to his side. One of the passengers, taking Derek for a member of their team, drops two cardboard boxes, saying "Take these down to the box office" before racing off. He complies, grumbling, and is soon shoveling snow, hanging banners, vacuuming floors and assisting festival visitors in ticket lines.
His attitude improves, and by the finale he's beaming. When his long-lost ride does appear, the passenger -- a prosperous-looking film industry type -- says, "I've been looking all over for you." In classic journey-of-discovery mode, Derek announces, "I've been looking for something too. Me. And I've found him right here."
The finale is a celebratory freeze frame of Derek and his new "family" in a blaze-orange group hug. The 1,200-strong crowd at the short's debut in the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts applauded, stomped and cheered so lustily the film could have taken the audience prize on the spot.
--COLIN COVERT
