The 16 minutes of Jason Park’s BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop will leave you demanding a full-length feature film, featuring Johnnyboy Tellem before 2021 is over.
Community Rating:
| Director(s) | Jason Park |
| Screenplay By | Jason Park |
| Date Released (Sundance Film Festival) | 1/28/2021 |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Drama, Young Adult |
| Duration | 16 Minutes |
| Rating | Not Rated |
| Noted Cast | |
| BJ | Johnnyboy Tellem |
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Film Summary
Why work for someone when you can work for yourself, right? That’s BJ’s mindset, and with BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop, BJ always finds people who need what he is selling. Be it a shirt, a power bank, you name it, it is like the Gods sent BJ to you in your moment of need. But, don’t think none of it is for free because there is always a fee.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Reason(s) for Film Rating: There is some cursing and racist moments.
- Jump Scares/ Laughs/ Tear-Jerking Moments: When you meet BJ’s grandparents and the less comical side of his life, you may get emotional.
Cast & Characters
Please Note: This is not an exhaustive list of every cast member.
BJ
About 6 years, or more, out of high school, rather than go to college, rack up debt, or end up in a job he hates, making someone else rich, BJ works for himself. He has a mobile gift shop in which he goes to the client, addresses their need, and admittedly exploits them often needing something at a moment’s notice. But with having two grandparents he loves and cares about and a hustler’s spirit, while the gift shop is a lot of work, it’s better than the alternatives his grandpa pushes.
Review
Highlights
Johnnyboy Tellem as BJ
Johnnyboy Tellem appears in BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop by Jason Park, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Brandon Hoeg.
Johnnyboy Tellem has superstar potential. Point blank, period, and not in the form of being the next this or that, I’m talking about him having his own pedestal where you can see people being compared to him within 5 to 10 years. Why? Well, as BJ, he gives you everything you need. We get the comedy from seeing BJ hustle and deal with customers and hecklers. When it comes to BJ dealing with his friends, there is this frustration, this possible questioning of what he is doing with his life, and then when you see him with his grandparents? Oh, while certain details are missing, in regards to his parents, their child, he helps foster an emotional moment that would probably make you cry if it went on.
Being able to get all of that from one actor, who makes it so, within 16 minutes, you want more of not just the film they are in, but to see them in more as well, we find that rare. Heck, even with all the shorts and movies we’re covering with the festival, he perhaps is one of the few who we single out and say they made that production worth seeing.
Overall
Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing) – Recommended
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, whoever I fully expect and desire for someone to finance making this short into a full-length film. Heck, pooling all the movies and shorts we’ve seen, this is in the top 5 if not 3. So definitely check out BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop, which I feel in my bones, will launch both Jason Park and Johnnyboy Tellem’s careers.
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Ratings
- Recommended: Some of the best-seen movies we have ever watched and mentioned to friends, family, and strangers as films that need to be seen.
- Positive (Worth Seeing): Whether you’ll have to go to the movies, download, or stream, movies of this category are worth your time and money with few, if any, qualms from us.
- Mixed (Divisive): Due to this movie having a few quirks, of which may work for some and for others be a problem, we believe your enjoyment of this movie will depend on your taste.
- Negative (Acquired Taste): While one or two elements kept us going until the end, unfortunately, we’re of the opinion this film never reached the potential it was marketed to have.
Special Categories/ Tags
- Indie: By our definition, independent films are films you have to seek to find due to limited availability or lack of a marketing push.
- Film Festival: Featured in this tag are films and shorts which were discovered thanks to various film festivals, so some of the productions may not have wide availability but still may deserve to be on your watch.
- Shorts: Be it ten or fifteen minutes, or a half-hour, these quick teases or films get right to the point, often show the potential of filmmakers and the actors who have joined them in their journey.
