‘Out for Delivery’ review: A hilarious take on a serious subject

Chelsea Christer’s short film, Out for Delivery, which originally premiered at Sundance, has made its way to South By Southwest. It packs a succinct punch in its runtime, and by its end, you’re left feeling more than just sad for these characters.

The film follows Joanna (Deanna Rooney), who has just gotten a terminal diagnosis with only a few months left to live. In this world, you can order a pill that comes in the mail for a “death with dignity” program. However, after Joanna orders the pill and gets her affairs in order, things go wrong.

Most of the film’s 16-minute runtime is spent with Joanna as the only character on screen, and Rooney plays her with precision. Christer’s humor is dry, and Rooney shines with it. There is a scene where Joanna calls the customer service for the delivery company, and we can see how masterful Rooney’s performance is as she cycles through several emotions at once with no other screen partner besides a voice on the phone.

However, she does not remain the only character for long. We eventually meet her neighbor, who received the package instead. Of course, we can’t forget Martin Starr, who shines alongside Rooney when he shows up on screen. Their chemistry is immediate and makes you believe in the concept of platonic soulmates.

While the film is essentially a comedy, you cannot discount the emotion that runs through it, too. We are all afraid to die; it’s only natural. And what happens when you click with somebody at the tail-end of your life, when you know your time is up? We can put on a brave face, but only for so long, and it is one of the reasons being able to make these sorts of end-of-life choices is so important.

Starr and Rooney shine on the screen together. Their characters are both somewhat reticent to talk to each other for longer than necessary but are also clearly desperate for a genuine human connection, like we all are. The film speaks to how none of us truly know what we want or what we’re doing. That message makes the short film that much more poignant.

Currently, Out for Delivery exists only as a short film, but this is one where I hope it can be adapted into something longer. Christer gives us something to chew on long after the credits have rolled, and it would be great to see more of this idea and these characters.