Lillian Likes..."It's All in Your Head"

Lillian Likes...

"It's All in Your Head"

**This review may contain spoilers**

“It’s All in Your Head” is a comedy short film about a neurotic woman who visits a crackpot psychiatrist who may be in for more than she bargained for when he attempts to fix her mind.

The film opens with a woman, Monica (Marla Seidell), knocking on a door in the hallway of an office suite. She is taken aback when she hears someone “answering” the knock by knocking back. The door opens and smoke oozes out. Dr. Bendy (Danny Glenn) shakes her hand and invites her in. At this point, the audience does not see who Dr. Bendy is, giving a feel of mystery to who this doctor is.

Lillian Likes…The fact that Dr. Bendy’s identity is not immediately shown. Rather, the audience only sees a hand poke out to greet his patient, an early indication of the psychological quackery to follow.

Lillian Likes…The way that after Monica is pulled into the office, Dr. Bendy then pokes his head out and pulls in the sign for his services, and looks to make sure no one sees. This sets the stage for Dr. Bendy’s zany character and makes me wonder what this “doctor” is all about.

Lillian Likes…The director’s choice to interrupt the doctor periodically by weird sounds and music. Monica responds by looking at him strangely, which at this point, we assume that she does not hear whatever Dr. Bendy is hearing.

Lillian Likes…The interesting choice of a using a split screen when Dr. Bendy talks to his patient, which makes the viewer wonder if there is split personality thing going on with Monica.

Lillian Likes…The use of jump cuts when the doctor explains how he has learned everything about her from all of her previous doctors and therapists to her “yearbook photos.” This invasion of privacy is clear which shows up with the unsettling look on Monica’s face.

Lillian Likes…The editor’s choice to cut together shots of Dr. Bendy explaining how he can help her resolve her problem with shots of him speaking on his wacky infomercial. These infomercial cuts show his character on an old school TV screen really capturing the eccentric qualities of his character.

Lillian Likes…Marla Seidell’s portrayal of a woman with psychological problems as she describes how she has these voices in her head.

Lillian Likes…Danny Glenn's portrayal of the "quack" therapist that does all manner of nonsense as part of his "treatments." He gives new meaning to the word “snake oil salesman” with his zany character and all of his wacky jargon.

Lillian Likes…The line in the film, “handcrafted by an Amish prostitute named Helga,” when he whips out a brain to display on a pedestal.

Lillian Likes…The wacky gadget props used in the film, like the instrument used to “diagnose and treat” Monica’s problem: The Bendy Intercranial Probe.

Lillian Likes…The wacky, at times almost cheesy, sound effects to complement and highlight this demented and zany doctor’s antics.

Lillian Likes…The question posed by Dr. Bendy, “Is it a brain issue or a mind issue? Hardware or software?”

Lillian Likes…The stream of consciousness way that the doctor "pokes around her subconscious" with random, nonsensical words and thoughts. All of this begs the question, “Is this Dr. Bendy character real or is it…all in her head?”

Lillian Likes…The writer’s choice to reveal that the voices and noises rattling around in Monica’s head are “leftover memory fragments of the memories of her parents stuck in the wrong places in her head.”

Lillian Likes…The line in the film where Dr. Bendy says that “I learned everything at the University of Phoenix Online,” to hit the point home of the questionability of this doctor’s credentials.

Lillian Likes…The way that they put together the infomercial for this doctor’s “services.” The editors infused old school vibes similar to the commercials from the 50s mashed together with cheesy late night infomercials for products that no one needs.

Lillian Likes…That Monica eventually is cured of her problem and now Dr. Bendy has “caught” her mental illness. Monica disconnects early from the device which sends everything into haywire and seems to transfer everything from Monica’s head into Dr. Bendy's head, causing him to go mad (as if he wasn’t already).

Lillian Likes…Dr. Bendy’s way of trying to undo the chaos that has now glommed onto his head by shooing the voices out of his head and back into Monica’s.

Lillian Likes…The fun font effects on the credits that kind of hearkened back to the 80s movie “Weird Science.”

Lillian Likes…The visual effects for this wacky short film, that literally fly off the screen at times.

Lillian Likes…”It’s All in Your Head”

Written, produced and directed by Danny Glenn

Edited by John Wesley Norton and Bernice Contrera

Scored by DC McAuliffe

Starring: Danny Glenn, Marla Seidell

Visual effects: Steve Verdino

DP: John Wesley Norton

Be sure to check out the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJEIXNBvDJM