Need a little pick-me-up? Come on down, if you know what’s good for you, and spend 4 minutes in Christopher Walken’s Coffee Shop. Animator Leah Dubuc’s quirky short employs dainty linework on colorful watercolor backgrounds, making way for the dialogue to steal the show.
What began as an improv group’s exploration of the ridiculous premise of Chris Walken retiring from acting to open a coffee shop, leads to a performance about as chaotic as you could expect. Vampires, loose limbs, and lend-a-book libraries await inside, nodding to the tropes of your neighborhood cafe, with a tastefully morbid, tongue-in-cheek lunacy.
The troupe’s absurdist humor employs a healthy dose of crassness, and you’ll watch in real time as the bit slowly spirals out of control. If you weren’t already smirking, you’ll be sure to crack a smile when the actors can’t even contain their laughter at the goofy world they’ve built for themselves. So start your day right with a trip to Chris Walken’s Coffee Shop, it’s free trade!
– Stephanie Glass, June 2022