Lily and Jim (1997)

Simply Perfect

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Blistering performances.

This is really an outstanding short film. It runs for 12 minutes and was made by Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt when he was only 20 years old. He also wrote the script together with the two voice actors from the film. I am not sure why I found this so amazing. I guess part of it is the fact that you are here watching them and you are also glad that you are not in an equally awkward situation like the protagonists. The first part they tell about their date and how it went in their opinion. The middle part is the actual date and we see what happens and the ending includes some more comments by Lily and Jim about what is going to happen next. Sadly, nothing it seems, although they liked each other. I guess that's life. I do not want to go into detail about any particular quotes or scenes in here. I could not even pick my favorite moment or scene really, because there were so so many of them. But the script shows me that Hertzfeldt really had deep knowledge about the human soul and about relationships and the ways in which men and women work (differently). It's absolutely great and every single award that this won was more than deserved. Hertzfeldt is possibly my favorite animation director right not and I just absolutely love his style. I would actually be curious to see him direct a live action feature film, maybe a short film first. But no matter if he does or not, I hope he is going to have a long and healthy career in the industry as I am so curious about all his future projects. "Lily and Jim" is maybe his least offensive movie and definitely a must-see for everybody in my opinion.

This is a very good example of Hertzfeldt's style, along with his general theme of angry stick-figures with social dilemmas. Lily and Jim are two stick figures set up for a blind date, and they bring all of their angst to the restaurant resulting in that uncomfortable comedy one gets when two people with no self-esteem embarrass themselves.What makes it Don's is his shaky stick figures that are remarkably colored in with odd atmospheric painting... unusual to think about and even more unusual to see, it actually really captures the kind of background artistic expression around these characters who only know to avoid looking at each other in the eyes and try to think of clever and witty things to say (and ultimately failing).It's definitely not as random and crazy as most of his other works, but it's very enjoyable and poignant, perhaps a bit predictable but in that whole, "Ahhh, we've all been there..." kind of way.--PolarisDiB

I feel bad for Hertzfeldt. He has a great sense of humor, he's a gifted animator and he has some clever ideas. But he has yet to find a writing collaborator that can help him develop and project something as powerful as "Wallace and Gromit."This is a simple skit, along the lines of a Fieffer cartoon. The animation is irrelevant except for the ten seconds when they turn on the TeeVee.Otherwise, this is the absolute worst of his work, if you are looking around.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

'Lily and Jim' is an animated short about the blind date Lily and Jim had. Both are being interviewed, doing their story while we see the images that belong to their story. They start in a restaurant where they do not know what they should talk about. Then they go to Lily's (voice by Karin Anger) apartment where they drink some coffee. Jim (voice by Robert May) is actually allergic to caffeine, but he does not say anything about it since he wants to keep their evening nice. He just drinks the strong coffee.Although it is not as good as 'Genre' from a year earlier, or both 'Billy's Balloon' and 'Rejected' after this one, 'Lily and Jim' is another fine example of the brilliant mind of animator Don Hertzfeldt. This one is the most accessible since it lacks some of the more violent images from his other films. It has some great laughs, when they are watching television is the best example, but not as much as any of his other films. Still terrific entertainment, highly recommended.