''Dentally Disturbed'' is an Australian

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

written by Cameron Mitchell and

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

by Craig Melville and Cameron Mitchell. It first aired on SBS in Australia on 24 December 2004.

Plot

The film begins with Ed ( Ben Anderson) shopping in the supermarket with his wife, Gina (Kate Gorman). Ed searches the shelves for

dental floss Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments, typically made of nylon or silk, used in interdental cleaning to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth or places a toothbrush has difficulty reaching or is unable to reach. Its regular use a ...

, but can't find any. Both Gina and a supermarket employee seem to have never heard of it before: "You mean, toothpicks?" Ed asks his friends, his dentist, Google, and even the local radio station, all of them confused as to the origin of the product and as to why toothpicks would not suffice. Finally, Ed proposes the idea of dental floss to

Oral-B Oral-B is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothpastes, toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, and mouthwashes. The brand has been in business since the invention of the Hutson toothbrush in 1950 and in Redwood City, Cali ...

. The CEO rejects it, saying "The wheel's already been invented, mate!" The CEO too, has never heard of it. In desperation, Ed purchases some candles, which he begins to strip down in order to use the wax-covered string inside as dental floss. Gina, sensing his maddening fight with this problem, convinces Ed to move on. As she does this, however, she is searching frantically through her bag to find her

tampon A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inserted correctly, a tampon is held ...

s. Confused, Ed asks, "What the hell are tampons?"

Cast

The film features only four main actors, who have all featured in their own television shows. * Ben Anderson as Ed *

Damian Callinan Damian Callinan is an actor/comedian from Melbourne, Australia. Entertainment career Callinan has performed in many mediums, including TV, film, radio and live stand-up. He acted in the Australian sketch comedy television series ''skitHOUSE'' ...

as Market Employee
Kate Gorman
as Gina *

John Safran John Michael Safran (; born 13 August 1972) is an Australian radio personality, satirist, documentary maker and author, known for combining humour with religious, political and ethnic issues. First gaining fame appearing in '' Race Around the W ...

as Radio DJ Ben Anderson and Damian Callinan are both regular characters on the Australian comedy

skitHOUSE ''Skithouse'' (styled ''skitHOUSE'') is an Australian sketch comedy television series that ran on Network Ten from 9 February 2003 to 28 July 2004. The series was produced by Roving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedians, ...

. John Safran, who portrays himself, featured on

John Safran vs God ''John Safran vs God'' is an eight-part television documentary film, documentary series by John Safran which was broadcast on SBS (Australian TV channel), SBS TV of Australia in 2004. It has been described in a media release as "John Safran's most ...

, and Kate Gorman acted i
You and Your Stupid Mate

Critical acclaim

The National Flossing Council: "Dentally Disturbed" is "a funny, thought provoking story"

Festivals and awards

*2005 Flickerfest International Short Film Festival. Winner, "SBS Eastcarpet Award" *2005 Portland International Short Film Festival. Winner, "Audience choice award"
, "PISS FEST 2005 screening details". Retrieved 10-23-2008 *2005 Down Under Film Festival. Winner, "Best Australian Short Comedy" *2005 Sony Tropfest. Winner, "Best of the Rest competition"flickerfest.com.au
, Flickerfest Distribution Catalogue, retrieved 10-24-2008 *2005 London Rushes Soho Short Film Festival. Runner-up for "Best Newcomer". *

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

In-flight Entertainment programme, Licensing deal *Angry Film Festival, Runner Up

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0760234
Craig Melville's Official website
2004 films Australian comedy short films 2000s English-language films