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Western Animation / French Roast

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French Roast is a 2009 animated short film (eight minutes) from France by Fabrice Joubert. It can be watched here.

A man sits in a cafe that might be in the late 1950s or early 1960s. He is drinking coffee and reading his paper. He snootily dismisses a filthy vagrant who comes into the cafe begging for change. The man's haughty demeanor is shattered, however, when he realizes that he has forgotten his wallet and thus can't pay the bill. The man drinks cup after cup of coffee as he tries to think of a way out of his predicament.


Tropes:

  • Break the Haughty: The arrogant customer learns a lesson in humility after he finds himself unable to pay for his bill at the coffee shop.
  • Extremely Short Timespan: A few hours, as a man is stuck in a coffee shop after he realizes he has no money to pay his bill.
  • Foreshadowing: There's a reason why the little old nun has such a thick roll of cash.
  • Hidden Depths: The elderly nun is actually a wanted criminal. The man goes fishing in her purse for cash and comes up with a mask identical to that of the wanted poster.
  • Manly Tears: The man breaks down crying at closing time, when presented with the bill he can't pay.
  • Miniature Senior Citizens: The elderly nun does not even come up to the doorknob of the door to the restroom.
  • Nuns Are Funny: The little old nun sitting at the table next to the man, who is sleeping and snoring at the table and later spends an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom.
  • Oh, Crap!: The man's look of shock when he realizes he can't pay the bill.
  • The Pig-Pen: The homeless man is so dirty that he literally has a cloud of flies hovering over his head and following him around.
  • Running Gag: The one light fixture that keeps blinking out and falling over, only for the waiter to continually nudge it back into place.
  • Time Skip: The man, nervous after realizing he doesn't have his wallet, orders a second cup of coffee. Cut to the man looking depressed as eight empty coffee cups sit at his table.
  • "Wanted!" Poster: The owner of the cafe puts up a poster showing a masked criminal and offering a reward.

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