As Agent Smith told Neo in The Matrix Reloaded, “appearances can be deceiving.” Quiet! Mom’s Working! is a hilarious short film that perfectly blends action and comedy, while also delivering some surprising twists in the plot. Writer and director P. Patrick Hogan (who’s also the editor and sound supervisor for the film) constructs a story about a mother who appears to have a dangerous job with a specific set of skills.
The film is about a woman simply credited as Mom (the mother with no name) who is doing her work or hobby from her own basement. She wears an apron with gloves and AirPods, has several hardware and cutting tools, and has an unconscious man on a table wrapped up in plastic. As the mom does her job, she is interrupted a few times by her daughter (Jillian Shea Spaeder), arguing about family and/or personal issues, adding to the movie’s comedic timing. The mother’s work seems dangerous and unethical, but her job will surprise viewers, and her interactions with the man on the table are funnier than expected considering how bleak and unsettling their situation originally appears to be.
There are plenty of funny references in the movie, including the Netflix-style opening with the list of TV-MA content (violence, adult language, etc.), making it look like a cable TV movie. Ana Krista Johnson portrays Mom, who is seen working in her stacked but well-organized basement. She initially looks like an ordinary, hard-working mother, but she also has attitude, sternness, and a vivid personality. The Mom’s use of power tools and plastic wrap may remind viewers of Dexter, and the basement setting provides some level of horror as a parody to scary movies.
Along with Mom, there’s also Del (Shane Brady), a long-haired and bearded guy in a suit who provides problems for the protagonist, including a comical fight sequence involving kung-fu and hand-to-hand combat referencing The Matrix and Cobra Kai (which Hogan did the sound for as well). The fight scene pokes fun at action movies by using effective slow-motion and sound techniques to make it feel exciting and unexpected. The use of tools like a sledgehammer and a power drill provides context for the Mom as a skilled craftsperson who can work with anything at her disposal. Even when her daughter and husband (Jim O’Heir) are briefly included in the mix, none of them are phased by Mom’s line of work. The basement also symbolizes how multitasked Mom is by doing her work and having argumentative conversations with her daughter at the same time.
The screenplay is filled with profanities and funny interactions between the characters. Reminiscent of best picture Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, Quiet! Mom’s Working! is a short film that combines action, comedy, and female empowerment. It’s about a woman who’s a mother, a wife, and a worker who understands who she is and what she wants without regret. The Mom’s crude and profane sense of humor also brings out her sparkling persona and no-nonsense demeanor.
This film is a prime example of the joys of experimental filmmaking and how women continue to prove that they’re just as capable as men in commanding the screen when it comes to the action-comedy genre.
