In the first scene of Ted Fendt's Short Stay, we meet our tall, mumbling protagonist, Mike (Mike Maccherone).  Mike looks exactly like the kind of guy who one would find cleaning tables and answering phones at a pizza place in New Jersey, which is why the first scene has him doing just that.  From here onwards, we watch as Mike gets himself into, and typically not out of, various uncomfortable situations.  Fendt isn't as interested in showing us the solutions to these situations as he is in just letting them play out.

The simplistic aesthetic decisions here feel like they are used not only as money-saving techniques, but also to suck the audience into the awkwardness of the film.  The lack of a score or soundtrack forces the viewer to sit through each and every prolonged silence as if he or she were one of the eccentric Philadelphians interacting with Mike.  Additionally, the static shots used throughout the film act as our eyes, and doesn't let us look away when we are inevitably made uncomfortable watching Mike struggle to connect with other human beings.

The main force of antagonism that Mike faces is his inability to fit in, both socially and physically.  A lot can be said about Fendt's decision to include shots of Mike walking as often as he does.  Seeing Mike with his tall stature, long stride, and swingy arms trudging through the city of Philadelphia and taking up most of the sidewalk, exemplifies the fact that Mike is constantly in the way.  This idea is further proven very literally when Mike is asleep on a friend's kitchen floor, and the friend is forced to navigate around the obstacle that is this sleeping giant in order to make himself a cup of coffee.

Short Stay is ultimately successful in what it sets out to achieve, showing a portrait of a gawky, unapologetic adult male as he is lodged into the throat of Philadelphia and then spit back up.  Mike and the Philadelphia inhabitants that he encounters are compelling enough to drive a dialogue-heavy, minimalist film like Short Stay.  It might have even benefited from being 10-20 minutes longer. Ted Fendt delivers equal doses of awkward comedy and uncomfortable tragedy what is sure to be the only 2016 film that includes both a hilarious anecdote about Hall of Fame hockey player Bobby Clarke, and the sad image of a guy sleeping on the ground in between a spice rack and a refrigerator.