Austin Film Festival Short Feature Review: ‘Two Cents & A Footlong’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

George Russo and Arielle Uppaluri as Rodger and a Female Customer in Kanan Guntzleman’s TWO CENTS & A FOOTLONG. (Photo Courtesy of Queen City/Regenesis Pictures.)

If there is one particularly strange mantra that the modern world still holds to, it would have to be that each of us should suffer in silence and solitude when life is getting us down. Likely because there is still the belief that the only way out in this life, is through. So, if we lower our head, keep our mouth shut and just power forward, we’ll be all right in the end. But that truly is a strange line of thinking. Because, while some folks can in fact, handle tough times in that manner, not everyone can. For some people feel quite burdened by tough times and need to talk it out or at the very least, get their frustrations off of their chest.
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But that too, is denied often. Because that’s also somehow taboo, and even seeing a therapist to vent is looked down upon because of our silly views regarding mental health. Which leaves one to wonder, how then… do we abandon such silly lines of thinking? How do we create a world where it is okay to vent and okay to speak to our struggles? Well one fine way, is through storytelling. Because the right kind of story can showcase the safety that comes with a risky idea or how much it can help someone and well, as we enter this new age where more people are asking such questions, more stories are popping up that explore the answers. Such as a short feature that screened at the Austin Film Festival, Two Cents & A Footlong.

Which this feature accomplishes, in a simple manner. For this particular tale opens up in the middle of the night at a twenty-four-hour sub sandwich shop known as Subclub. Wherein a sandwich jockey named Lenny, must steel himself to deal with what looks to be an annoying customer. For an insomniac named Rodger is now in the restaurant to get his favorite sub and nothing but sour words pour out of his mouth, and he harbors an attitude that screams trouble. But as Lenny builds Rodger’s sandwich, and offers courtesy to Rodger and his musings, something incredible happens. In that, these men bond and discover that speaking to their troubles might offer them more than they could have imagined on this lonesome night.

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Which is… the perfect way to explore that central theme. In fact, it’s a stroke of genius that this story opens up with irritation and how we perceive venting and frustration. Since it sets up a special emotional journey. One that outright showcases the sour mantras we hold to as a society and how much it hurts people. Since Rodger is clearly flustered when it seems, at first, the conversation is falling upon irritated ears. But soon, Lenny’s kindness and the chance to learn more about what he is going through and what Lenny, and a random customer are carrying in their souls… allows for this feature to become more about how and why it is so important that we start to listen to one another and take to heart the importance of letting people vent and speak to their pain.
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Because it can truly… make a massive difference in their lives. Because when we carry such stuff around, eventually it strangles us and leaves us gasping for air. Plus, it consumes us and makes us invisible to others as we hide and sulk. But we need people, and we need that air. So truly, hearing about how someone’s day is going and actually offering genuine care regarding that answer, or hearing about their pain or what scares them… is a shocking cure for what ails us. And it does help us to go on and fight that good fight. Because we feel validated and we feel seen and not so alone, and all of these elements make… for a stunningly powerful feature. One that truly explores the power of kindness and the moment.

Which is something we absolutely should start thinking about in this life, because we truly don’t know what anyone is going through in the moment, nor do we fully understand how being kind really does make a huge difference in people’s lives. Because sometimes, that boost means everything, and it is just a delight to see that message and that truth come forth in this short feature. Since it does teach us in all the right ways and should hopefully inspire change in so many to just do what Lenny did here, and it also doesn’t hurt… that this is sold in a realistic manner. Because the setting feels real, the moment authentic, and the performances truly draw us into this refreshing story about how quickly our world could change… if we all just took a minute of our day to share in an experience with a stranger.

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