The Drop Off is an urban tale about two brothers charged with picking up a package to be delivered to a faceless crime boss. Metaphorically, it is a statement about the challenges young people face when trying to make it in the big city. These two boys exhibit questionable morals, dependence on vices, and a willingness to turn on each other at the drop of a hat. The title, then, could also be an indication of how the Dastolis view the decay of our society. Further study into their characters reveals a distinction between honorable criminals and the truly corrupt.

The boys, Tony and Sal, are portrayed by James and Robert, respectively. I love their collective performance in this movie, perhaps because it is an exact representation of what it is like to stand in a corner waiting for something with the two of them. The immediacy at which their intelligence and honor as men is called into question by each other is fantastically true to life. After mere minutes of screen time, Sal is ready to kill Tony, which I believe is an extension of the Dastolis' real life relationship. One difference from the script, however, that has me curious is the moment at which the car pulls up. In the script, Sal has his hands throttled around Tony's neck. In the movie, he is about to attack him, but the car pulls up before he can get physical. Why the discrepancy? Did they not feel the choking was working out on set and decide to cut it? Was it simply an overlooked detail of no significance to their own personal goals for the story?

In 2006, Robert accidentally caused a car wreck that put James in a neck brace for three months. Was this his way of correcting the oversight they made years ago on the set of The Drop Off, and "finishing the job," as it were?

Here is what James has to say about The Drop Off:

JAMES:

"The Drop Off is completely unwatchable. It's eight minutes, and it probably could have been cut down to three. It was the first film that we made that was not a Fan Film of sorts (not counting Divination), and that was a big step."

James here echoes the sentiment loudly expressed to me when I first watched this movie. James and Robert happened to be in the room, and they were adamant about how terribly this movie was edited. My own personal opinion is that it's great, because the slow pacing really helps build the anticipation of that drop off, especially when intercut with the scenes of The Boss talking to Louie (Pat DeNicola). The Boss, voiced by Robert Dastoli, is quite possibly the best voice over performance in the history of mankind.

This is one of my favorite Dastoli Digital shorts, and I cannot think of a better way to end my review than with this extremely Robert-esque quote:

ROBERT:

"A lot of people ask what was in the pizza box on set. The pizza box was really empty, which isn't too hard to figure out. But the interesting fact is that the box never had a pizza in it. It was an eternally unused pizza box provided by former Michelina's Pizza employee Evan Blair."