Horror Meets Comedy Ep. 2 - "The Miracle of Phil"

NOTE: The following episodes are listed in the order that they are designated on XBOX live, and do not necessarily designate their order of release. The episode lists have differed on every site that I've looked at, including the XBOX site.

"Horror Meets Comedy" is a series of short film pilots that are available exclusively on XBOX Live. Episodes have been periodically released through the fall and winter, boasting current horror directors like James Gunn (Slither) and Adam Green (Hatchet). Over the next few weeks, I'll be sampling the series to see if these horror giants really have the comedy chops to match their horror cred.

Episode 2: The Miracle of Phil

Director: Andrew Douglas

Synopsis:

From director Andrew Douglas, The Miracle of Phil shows that the best relationships are full of screaming, shouting and cursing, but when Phil gets knocked up, his girlfriend is the one who feels screwed.

Yes, "The Miracle of Phil" is another ironic story of a dude getting pregnant. Unlike the real life story of the man that's not actually a man becoming pregnant for a second time, "Miracle" is more cute and funny than disturbing. Andrew Douglas, of "The Amityville Horror (2005)" sort-of-fame, manages to interject some laughs and play up the simple role reversal well enough to hold my attention for 11 minutes. This short stars Jordan Black, who has made appearances on every TV show that you've never seen, as well as a year long period on SNL where I assume they averaged about 5 viewers weekly. Yeardley Smith, who is most readily recognizable as the voice of Lisa Simpson (or her role in Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive") plays a small role as a spacy shrink, who apparently wake and bakes.

A lot of the humor here is straight out of the "According to Jim" playbook of unfeeling buffoonish man and needy woman, except reversed. When the short breaks out of that mold, particularly in a mock-inspiring scene in a bar, it leaves a much stronger comedic impression. I'm not so sure that Andrew Douglas has a future in comedy, but "Miracle of Phil," is just fine for what it is, an adorable tale of gender roles turned upside down and pregnant man sight gags.