''Bedhead'' is a 1991 short

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

directed and co-written by

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

. Made while he was a student at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, Rodriguez shot the film with his brothers and sisters as actors and with his family and friends as crew. It was entered into several competitive film festivals, where it won cash prizes that Rodriguez then used to help produce his first feature film, ''

El Mariachi ''El Mariachi'' is a 1992 Spanish language American independent film, independent Western (genre)#Contemporary Western or Neo-Western, neo-Western film and the first part of the saga that came to be known as Robert Rodriguez's ''Mexico Trilogy' ...

''.

Plot

Rebecca, a young girl, is always picked on by her older brother, David, who "has the worst case of bedhead you've ever seen". David is a generally unruly sort. At breakfast, he eats a cockroach and makes a big mess with his cereal. After breakfast, Rebecca goes to play with one of her dolls and discovers it has been defaced by David. Enraged, she attacks David, but then falls and hits her head. When she comes to, she discovers that she has

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

powers. At first, she thinks of how her newfound powers could benefit humankind (including making herself the first

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

as well as the first

female president The following is a list of women who have been elected or appointed head of state or government of their respective countries since the interwar period (1918–1939). The first list includes female presidents who are heads of state and may also ...

of the United States). But she first decides that she will take

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

on her brother and tame his bedhead. Overwhelmed by her powers, but still unable to smooth David's unruly hair, she drags the boy behind her bicycle, and in the process hits her head again. She wakes up in a hospital and decides that she will never abuse her powers again, but as far as David knows, she will continue to be a threat.

Production

''Bedhead'' was a student film project by Rodriguez while he was at the

. He served as director, cameraman and editor, and co-wrote the story with his brother, David, and a friend, Bryant Delafosse. Rodriguez also created an animated title sequence. His brothers and sisters starred in the film, with younger sister Rebecca and brother David as the lead actors. Youngest sister Maricarmen Rodriguez portrayed Rebecca's fashion-obsessed little sister, "Fashion Monster", while Elizabeth Rodriguez played a nurse in the hospital. Family and friends served as crew, with co-writer Delafosse and David Rodriguez credited as

dolly grip In cinematography, the dolly grip is a dedicated technician trained to operate the camera dolly. This technician places, levels, and moves the dolly track, then pushes and pulls the dolly and usually a camera operator and camera assistant as ri ...

, the

camera dolly A camera dolly is a wheeled cart or similar device used in filmmaking and television production to create smooth horizontal camera movements. The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant usual ...

in the case of this film being a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

. The film was shot on black and white 16 mm film. It was then transferred to 3/4" videotape. Because he did not have the equipment to shoot sync sound the only dialogue is the voiceover narration, because it does not have to be synched to anyone's lip movements.

Release and reception

Festivals and awards

The short film was entered into several film festivals, where it won cash prizes in competitions. Rodriguez then used that money to partially fund ''

''.

Reviews

''Bedhead'' has been included as a bonus feature on both the VHS tape and the DVD releases of ''

'' as well as the entire ''

Mexico Trilogy The ''Mexico Trilogy'' (also known as the ''Desperado Trilogy'' on some released DVD products) is a series of American/Mexican contemporary western action films written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The series' plot tells the continuing story ...

'' (including ''

Desperado Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publ ...

'' and ''

Once Upon a Time in Mexico ''Once Upon a Time in Mexico'' (also known as ''Desperado 2'') is a 2003 American neo-Western action film written, directed, produced, photographed, scored, and edited by Robert Rodriguez. It is the third and final film in Rodriguez's ''Mexico T ...

''), and has therefore attracted a wider audience than most short films usually receive. Jason Adams, in his review of the ''

'' DVD box set, called ''Bedhead'' "a creative little flick."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedhead (Short Film) 1991 short films 1991 films American black-and-white films 1990s fantasy comedy films Fictional telekinetics Films scored by Robert Rodriguez American films about revenge Films directed by Robert Rodriguez Films produced by Robert Rodriguez Films with screenplays by Robert Rodriguez Films about telekinesis Troublemaker Studios films American fantasy comedy films 1991 comedy films Films about Mexican Americans 1990s English-language films 1990s American films