Written and directed by Salvador Paniagua, ‘Customer Service’ is a short romantic-comedy film set amidst a COVID-19 lockdown in Los Angeles. Alejandro Patino stars as Tony Rios – a type-cast actor with a desire to move away from antagonistic characters to romantic leads. Additional cast include Jaime Ferrar as Donny De La Rosa (Tony’s inept talent agent) and Lisa Catara as Grace – an IT support agent and super-fan. The short is predominately filmed over Zoom – the video conferencing software. ‘Customer Service’ explores themes of love, hope, mental health, loneliness and isolation. A charming film with witty dialogue throughout.
The 15-minute comedy opens with a sequence of radio announcements regarding the adaptions to the entertainment industry in light of lockdown. We are then introduced to Tony Rios, a Latin-American actor with a credit list of bad guy roles. During a Zoom meeting with his talent agent, Tony cries out to be cast as more charming character. Jaime Feerrar (Donny De La Rosa) provides much of the comic relief in the otherwise dramatic narrative. Later, whilst on a call to Grace, an IT support agent, he subsumes to her fangirl charms – sparking a new lease of hope and confidence. ‘Customer Service’ is essentially a Zoom love story fueled by lockdown and isolation.
Salvador Paniagua has created a charming film that will strike the heart of the audience. Alejando Patino’s performance as Tony is endearing from start to finish. The film poignantly touches on mental health, originated from the characters loneliness and his wedged career. A well put-together film that promises a lot of laughs. Highly recommended.
