''Shelf Life'' is a 1993 film directed by

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies and ...

. The final film Bartel directed before he died in 2000, it stars

O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones (born May 23, 1950) is an American actress, composer, and theater producer. She played religious fanatic Esmeralda in ''Edward Scissorhands''. Early and personal life Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first name comes ...

, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner.

Plot

Following the assassination of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

in 1963, a Californian family head to their nuclear bunker. The film returns thirty years later and 40 feet underground with a typical day for the children, Tina, Pam and Scotty, still in the bunker, together with their now dead parents.

Cast

as Tina *Andrea Stein as Pam / Mrs. St. Cloud * Jim Turner as Scotty / Mr. St. Cloud *

as Various Apparitions *Justin Houchin as Young Scotty *

Shelby Lindley Shelby Lindley is an American actress who has provided voices for the English dubs of Japanese anime and video games. Her major voice roles include Tsumugi Kotobuki in ''K-On!'', Chizuru Aizawa in ''Squid Girl ''Squid Girl'', known in ...

as Young Pam *Jazz Britany as Young Tina

Production

The film originated as a stage show, written and performed by Jones, Stein and Turner. Bartel saw the show at the Lex Theater in Hollywood and the film went into production six weeks after the show ended. The film was shot on a very low budget. The film is dedicated "For the Garys" in reference to the founders of

Filmex The Los Angeles International Film Exposition, also called Filmex, was an annual Los Angeles film festival held in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was the predecessor of the American Film Institute's Los Angeles International Film Festival. After the ...

who died in 1992.

Release

A work-in-progress was screened at the

Palm Springs Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...

in January 1993. The film was rejected by the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

and

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Reception

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for ''Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it a "microcosmic commentary on vaunted family values and media generation" and that it "features some of the best direction in any of

artel An artel (russian: арте́ль) was any of several types of cooperative associations and (later) corporate enterprises in the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union. They began centuries ago but were especially prevalent ...

s films".

References

External links

* 1993 films Films directed by Paul Bartel 1993 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-comedy-drama-film-stub