Star Cadets on Space Patrol
2015 · 7m · USA
Directed by Joe Nicolosi
Tones: absurdist, humorous, whimsical
Two star pilots patrolling an unremarkable sector of deep space discover that the biggest threat to their mission isn't hostile alien races — it's boredom. A love-struck pilot tries to deliver a gift to his annoying wingman, with consequences for the future of humankind.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A sci-fi rom-com about two pilots where the actual conflict is *boredom*—that's the kind of premise that makes you lean forward. Nicolosi's betting everything on tonal whiplash (psychic cats, briny vegetables, deadpan delivery) and somehow it lands, which is exactly the kind of swing that consensus tastes would've smoothed into oblivion.
The film knows its lineage—Kubrick's 2001 void-staring meets Taika Waititi's absurdist buddy dynamics—but never quite settles into rigorous form; the VFX ambition occasionally outpaces the tonal discipline, leaving it caught between sketch and craft piece rather than fully realizing either.
That decision to play it completely straight while the universe crumbles into sentient vegetables around them—holding the camera on their faces while delivering exposition with zero wink—that restraint is what transforms a YouTube gag into something that actually breathes.
Reviews
A fun little sci-fi short about two space pilots reminiscent of Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica — one pilot unsuccessfully tries to deliver a gift to the other, leading to a humorous situation, though the gift will play a major role in the future of humankind.
Festivals
- SXSW Film Festival 2015