Written and directed by Josh Parkhill, following the intimate and personal moments of French chef Blaise Durrant (Quentin Bruno) as he becomes an Egg Auteur and the evolution of Durrant’s culinary legacy, one thing becomes apparent—the only thing actually holding him back is a regional breakfast chain. Also starring: Frederic Fils-Aime, Michelle Narkiss, Amber Crawford and Timmy Walczak.
The parody of this film kicks off in fine form, it befits such a classically simple yet satisfying sense of humour, finding the silly in the over-serious. In a world where people do get obsessed over the smallest things, making the perfect egg is probably a more reasonable one but hearing Blaise (Bruno) talk about it in almost an existential manner is hugely enjoyable and funny. The writing as a whole is extremely well done, the timing is right where it should be and it does feel like it incorporates a genuine story progression to it, it’s not just one joke after another, it does follow a journey, even if a brief one. There’s also an unexpectedly sincere quality to it as it arrives in its final moments, it brings a sense of hope through Blaise’s attempt to find a use for his expertise and be appreciated for it; it’s a very strange combination of parody and sincerity but it works.
Bruno does a brilliant job as Blaise, it’s genuinely impressive how he manages to keep a straight face in spite of how ridiculous he sounds but it’s satisfying to watch how much seriousness he imparts in the role, not just with the dialogue but his mannerisms and body language. Fils-Aime is great support, his role is fairly simple but he adds a good presence for Bruno to play off of. Similarly with Narkiss, she helps push forward the story and bring in a more rational presence to offset Blaise’s obsession.
The direction really fits well into a mockumentary style, almost like What We Do in the Shadows or Best in Show, delving into the life of this character and getting up close and personal in his moments of triumph and tantrum. It also has a dash of reality TV to its style, in a positive way, with its mix of to camera and candid style content which successfully gets you to like this unorthodox and odd little character. You eventually can’t help but to respect his dedication, despite that it’s a parody, which is quite impressive.
Egg on Your Face is funny, silly, well shot and edited, and an impressive first outing from Parkhill. The parody is out in full force right from the start and the writing creates brilliant timing, which is performed perfectly by Quentin Bruno in the lead role. The most surprising thing about it is that when it rounds its final corner, its resolution is both funny and yet hopeful, the score gives it an added sincerity that’s an unusual addition for this type of short film but unexpectedly works very well. It’s simply a well-made film all round and it will be very interesting to see where Parkhill goes from here.
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