Test subject 335 takes part in a taste experiment that will test his taste buds to the limit in Sohale Dezfoli’s short comedy Taste The Difference.
Coca Cola is the biggest soft drink brand in the world. Thanks to a superior distribution system, effective marketing (before it was even called marketing) and incredible brand loyalty, they created legions of happy customers and have held the no. 1 spot in the cola market for decades and decades. However, back in the ’80s, their crown was seriously under threat and, for a brief period, they lost their coveted no. 1 spot to Pepsi.
Although they had both been around for almost a decade, Pepsi were looking to prove something. They were hungry and willing to take risks, and they came up with a revolutionary strategy to do just that, the Pepsi Challenge. Pepsi visited shopping centres around the country and invited people to do a blind taste test between Coke and Pepsi and people picked Pepsi over Coke by a significant margin. Pepsi happily touted the results in a TV campaign showing people, much to their own surprise, picking Pepsi. Coke got jumpy and in a panic made a couple of PR and commercial gaffes that ended up costing them the top spot and as a result, Pepsi ruled the 80s.
Dezfoli’s short comedy film Taste The Difference (with a humorous script written by Nicholas Begnaud) is a direct parody of the famous 80’s Cola wars and, although the reference is now 40 years old, it still resonates enough to make us laugh. I watched Taste The Difference and got plenty of dumb, vulgar comedy, but I also found it genuinely amusing with an intelligent undercurrent. This short sketch, as that is essentially what it is, works on its intended level and then sneaks in excursions to some other levels, too.
Subject 335, played by the amusingly energetic Mark Prendergast, is taking part in a taste experiment concerning two sets of painkillers while the Interviewer (a brilliantly deadpan Houston Rhines) questions him on which tastes best. But running at just over 5 minutes, the plot is not exactly the point here, it’s only a clothesline. What is funny about Taste The Difference (sometimes really funny) is the dialogue from Prendergast’s endearingly foul-mouthed Scottish oaf, along with the sight gags. The short brings to mind a goofy scene from Zucker & Abrahams’ productions, but there’s darker humour with more swearing, more violence, and just plain silliness; for example, when the short becomes an advert for Pepsi. Some of the biggest laughs in the film cannot be described, because their humour depends entirely on the fact that the filmmakers were daft enough to think about them in the first place.
Set in one large interview room, the cinematography by Paul W Sauline is pretty simple yet effective. There are some nice wide shots of the participants and testers, while close-ups are kept to a minimum. There are some close-ups, but we tend to see the actor’s reactions mainly in mid shots which gives their characters a slightly larger than life appearance. The setting is also pretty minimalist, with the blank walls a dirty white colour and the cast wearing variations of white and grey clothing. It all brings to mind prison, and because everything is so dull, it’s up to the actors to bring colour and life to the proceedings through their performances and thankfully they are all up to the task.
A hugely enjoyable 5 minutes, Taste The Difference is a short film that is well directed and will keep you laughing from beginning to end.
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