Christian Blauvelt's Outstanding Student Film of the Week: Should Have Stayed in Bed

How does comedy work on film? Usually a singular, instantly identifiable presence guides our emotions. We’re drawn into the world and characters of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, Jacques Tati, Bill Murray, Steve Carell or any other comedy auteur. Having a singular personality to relate to and follow on a discrete journey builds narrative tension and ups the stakes for our emotional investment.
Aut Phanthavong’s Should Have Stayed in Bed lacks such a clearly defined hero. The closest thing is a fish, who exists wholly in voiceover. What makes the film work, however, is how it creates comedy through cinematic techniques, particularly editing. Rather than just relying on the comic timing, facial expressions, and reaction shots of a single performer, Should Have Stayed in Bed pulls out tricks like a subjective shot from the fish’s point of view as she looks at a plush fish on which she has a crush.
The story of Should Have Stayed in Bed is simple: a goldfish owner named Sebastian wakes up, spends his day navigating his treacherous school life, and because of all his campus-based distractions ends up neglecting his pet. Tragedy might ensue if Sebastian can’t feed her in time.
Phanthavong does a great job building the stakes for Sebastian that we know are going to prevent him from feeding his goldfish: he gets a drink spilled all over him, has car maintenance problems, etc. Even near the beginning, though, it’s clear that all may not be as it appears since he recognizes his goldfish’s faux British voice coming from a girl he meets. Does this mean that everything we’re seeing is a dream? That Sebastian may never have gotten out of bed? Maybe, maybe not. That’s up to you. It can take a couple viewings to come up with a reasonable hypothesis of what is really going on here, but that ambiguity just makes it all the more engaging.
The film is dripping with charm, and even if the characters are not the most memorable, the situations they’re in are. The way that Phanthavong makes everything unfold is the point here, with whimsical flourishes along the way like the exaggerated barbershop quartet vocalizing that provides ironic accompaniment to the visuals.
Should Have Stayed in Bed doesn’t have a particular point or message, but it’s all the better for that. It doesn’t feel any necessity to imbue its narrative with significance or make a statement about animal rights, for instance. If all films had to have “a point,” I think we’d all just want to stay in bed.