Nick Offerman, in addition to being a goddamned national treasure, has, like the H. Jon Benjamins of the world, a voice that makes everything better, funnier, more beautiful, etc. That’s a quality that filmmaker Eric Kissack exploits to its fullest in “The Gunfighter,” a short comedy that features Offerman in the role of an omniscient narrator turning up the tension in a classic Western “man walks into a saloon” scene.
The twist is that everyone in the bar can hear Offerman’s voice, as he reveals their inner thoughts and secrets, ratcheting up conflict between the characters as they try to resist him (they begin to realize the Narrator’s motives when he describes the scene as “the setup for an awesome ballet of death.”). It’s all very Twilight Zone–esque, except, you know, funny.
The Gunfighter from Eric Kissack on Vimeo.