WEATHER OR NOT | Omeleto

A New York author meets an Uber driver.
WEATHER OR NOT is used with permission from Alyssa Carter and Eddie Grey. Learn more at edgrey.com.
Benjamin is a New York author on a book tour, which brings him to a small town far from the cosmopolitan cities he's used to. He's picked up at his latest stop by a chatty, friendly Uber driver, who greets him warmly and then engages him in polite small talk about the weather. Benjamin is annoyed by these platitudes, being interested only in "real talk."
His persnickety demeanor and dismissive attitude permeate his entire stay and event, making it clear he's annoyed by the small-town ethos of forced friendliness and cheer. The nail in the coffin in his experience is his ride back to the airport with the same Uber driver who picked him up. But she's cannier than he thinks and turns the table on him in a way that punctures the bubble of his superiority complex.
Co-directed by Eddie Grey and Alyssa Carter from a script written by Grey, who also plays the co-lead role of Benjamin, this short comedy works as both a snapshot of one man's hubris brought back down to earth and a lightly satirical portrait of dueling visions of American society, each convinced it's the superior "real" one. The storytelling combines elements of a travelogue with a "fish out of water" story -- though this particular fish has very strong opinions about the water and makes it clear to everyone around him.
Both the character's work and the story overall revolve around observation, woven here with clear, bright cinematography, acute attention to small detail and an ear for the regional and social nuances of dialogue. The narrative is bookended by two major conversations between Benjamin and his driver, the first of which reveals his blase, dismissive attitude towards the setting and event, which seems to disappoint his driver.
As an actor, Grey balances Benjamin's sharp intelligence with a curt refusal to engage with people outside the strict parameters of his perspective. Even at an event focused on celebrating his work, we observe Benjamin at the event and see how his attitude keeps him from being fully present and appreciative of his audience and the opportunity.
Yet, having written it all off as shallow and superficial, he's unaware of how he's cordoned himself off from the world around him. His second conversation with his driver on the way home reveals that he actually may even be more entrenched in his attitude, and the driver observes how little Benjamin has taken in. The great trick of WEATHER OR NOT is how it flips Benjamin's narrow worldview and myopia on him, revealing the driver to have an observational intelligence, understanding of human behavior and facility with communication that's akin to Benjamin's own. Hers may be folksy and down-home; his may be clipped with city sophistication. But he gets the tables turned on him, no thanks to his short-sightedness.

[@neilthomaswallin514]

Reading the comments I don't think people realized that he tipped well not because he believed her story but because she provided something interesting and different than the usual routine pleseantries.

[@Farheen-vd8ib]

I beg to differ. He fell for her story hook, line, and sinker

[@aknightthatsaysnee5259]

@@g.garcia7151 My bad; your right.. 🙄

[@rebeccadixon4645]

If only HUBBY would have called like FIVE MINUTES earlier!😂

[@user-fy7ru4ii1i]

By "meets his match", you meant something else. Decent twist. Wasn't expecting that one. Well done.

[@gemstar7286]

I thought it meant someone who's jsut as bad as him or something

[@miranda13c]

Uploading amazing varieties of short films and showing them to a big audience who can experience them as well (when they likely wouldn’t have ever seen or found them otherwise), love to see it!

[@maroulio2067]

I thought she was playing him when she said the baby's name is Simba, but I didn't think she would go that far. He did deserve it just for the lousy way he was signing those books and dissing his 'customers,' while the locals are trying to be friendly to theirs.

[@gemstar7286]

You think he deserved to be lied to?, this short was a strange one lol .

[@madolorito]

​@@gemstar7286 These are normal people. No twist at all. If you work at customer service , you will say things just to build rapport, It doesn't need to be true. Most of the time, people hates the truth.They want to hear want they want to hear whether is good, sad or made up stories.

[@missabbyelizabeth]

I did NOT see that ending coming! Loved it.

[@Ari_diwan]

Yeah me too 😄

[@HoaxTalks]

always a good day when omeleto uploads

[@continental1970]

Been driving for 14 years. I always tell my clients that they are well verbed and very smart. I get good tips.

[@christinesorensen8050]

Good tip for getting tips! I just started driving for Lyft. I’ve only given 3 rides. No conversations so far. They all seemed content to interact with their phone and I didn’t want to impose on them

[@MrHeat48]

Wow the "my husband died and I have 3 kids" script really sells LOL.

[@madolorito]

These are normal people. No twist at all. If you work at customer service , you will say things just to build rapport, It doesn't need to be true. Most of the time, people hates the truth.They want to hear want they want to hear whether is good, sad or made up stories.

[@CelestialWolf]

This guy's mindset is like every English teacher's mindset. love it

[@viktorwolfe8333]

If you're famous in any distinct way and give a bad tip, you'll be lambasted on social media as such. There's really no way to win this one.

[@jshelton100]

Great! Now every Uber driver is going to do this. 😂

[@VeretenoVids]

Taxi drivers have been doing it for ages, so why not pass on the tradition. 😉Can't tell you how many taxi drivers I've had who have wives or children with cancer. Kinda makes it hard to believe anyone.

[@charlie6629]

What an ending. Very funny just when I was feeling sorry for her. Another scammer at her best.

[@delavan9141]

And I thought I was the cynical one.

[@madolorito]

These are normal people. No twist at all. If you work at customer service , you will say things just to build rapport, It doesn't need to be true. Most of the time, people hates the truth.They want to hear want they want to hear, whether good stories, sad ones or made up.

[@glennparker5516]

Great job cast and crew. He's fighting the drown effect. True Lies prevail.

[@Miamiflow885]

Been funny if her husband called right after she said he was dead haha

[@radionicpowers5938]

WOW didnt think about that FLIP

[@MisterG2323]

Moral: Always maintain a legible signature, and pay attention, Simba, when people are working you for a pity tip.

[@MobileFilmmaking]

I loved this little film.

[@audremoon4947]

You can’t be a short MAN, have big ears AND be a jerk. Glad she got over on him 😂

[@molliwilson5639]

I agree! Especially “ teacup ears”

[@suraya1224]

Why was I not surprised to learn the character was smug, elitist David Sedaris? He deserved to get played 😄

[@margo3367]

That he knew she was making up the story seems unreal to me. I’m more gullible than that I suppose; I take people at face value.

[@madolorito]

These are normal people. No twist at all. If you work at customer service long enough, you will say things just to build rapport, It doesn't need to be true. Most of the time, people hates the truth.They want to hear want they want to hear whether is good, sad or made up stories.

[@dandeliondreamer3365]

😂 love the ending, he definitely had it coming

[@adriannathegreat9890]

Was there a point to this?

[@Miamiflow885]

I dont get it either

[@massiveattack777]

Yeah I’m as clueless as you..

[@Dayvit78]

The point is he's a jerk, so it's ok to trick him into giving you a big tip. I guess

[@paulabrown6840]

Yeah it’s just complicated for some

[@geraldrollner4842]

@@paulabrown6840 yeah some people...

[@artvsmachine3703]

The write was super convincing like you could write a super popular novel and have virtually nothing going on upstairs, nothing to say, and otherwise be nearly lifeless.

[@Teenyteenager]

OMG ending 😂

[@lordrobert12]

I have never disliked a character so much as him!!

[@youbetyourwrasse]

"Tears, Beers and Big Ears." A must read! But not quite the jolt of Mr Darius' prequel, "Tears, Beers and Hidden Fears."

[@youbetyourwrasse]

But not to be outdone by the sequeal to the sequel, "Tears, Beers and Offhand Jeers." That being said, Mr Sedaris is currently being considered as an extra in the TV adaption of the sequel of his life. :D

[@graceharper6384]

I love omeleto short films, but I am sorry i watched this. I am widowed with three boys and life is so difficult. Spousal loss is different from other losses and you do not know until you have experienced it. Cherish every moment with your loved one.

[@durasaxon5131]

I guess he had it coming. Interesting story. Trivialities.

[@fred7108]

Nice job Eddie!

[@mofire5674]

Am I the only one that feels that the twist was just bad for the story? (I suppose it was based on a journal entry, but that aside) A sweet ending would have been nice as we learn to perhaps empathize with the main character as we see a flawed person have some growth. Instead her swindling him just took the focus away from that. Whether or not he deserved to get burned felt like it completely missed the point.

[@CAMBY608]

The only part I didn't like was HE didn't know the twist! LOL!!! So really, he is just thinking to himself what a great honorable thing he did, and maybe from that day forward, her scam turned into his treasure of sorts. :)

[@delavan9141]

Actually he did. That's why he said that at the end to her.

[@madolorito]

These are normal people. No twist at all. If you work at customer service long enough, you will say things just to build rapport, It doesn't need to be true. Most of the time, people hates the truth.They want to hear want they want to hear whether is good, sad or made up stories.

[@CAMBY608]

@@madolorito of course there are..it was just my take on what prolly happened here…only. :)

[@wanderingwade8877]

Went from sweet to cynical.

[@shekharchowdhary]

I have officially decided to quit tip right now. Not because of this video. I was thinking about it for long time, now i have finalized my decision, considering many facts around it, all pros and cons.

[@jamesmmcgill]

8:08 This is the moment Jackie became Slippinʼ Jimmy.

[@buildyourowntone]

Well, she is raking it in.

[@Jacksonrodriguez]

love david sedaris...now I'm questioning whether or not this skit was in Calypso....

[@missabbyelizabeth]

Also, Benjamin is 🔥

[@citylightproperties2702]

Nice ending

[@establishingshotsent]

Good job, Ritzi Lanier.

[@sandy120]

I hate the whole "never end a sentance with a preposition" thing. it's really common "what are you sitting on" "are you going to take that coat off" "I don't know where it came from" "he will come around" all common phrases that end in prepositions. It's not even a rule in english it's for god damn latin!

[@titerabura9506]

Morel of the story is, ehhhhh I don’t know I’m confused, still am.

[@kestrelfeather]

Oh my! Delicious ice cream and apple pie!

[@edwardharding8148]

Who's zoomin" who ?

[@tonysardjono2905]

Gotcha

[@theeclectic2919]

I don't tip cat ladies.

[@mynameisdisappointed4347]

Wow. I saw David Sedaris live and this is exactly him. To a T.

[@scottcarpenter1108]

Interesting concept... weak execution. He's not a New Yorker, he's just rude. The characters are too flat.

[@AkuraTheAwesome]

Yeah, of course he's rude. That's so obvious it didn't really warrant pointing out.

[@AkuraTheAwesome]

He's also from New York...

[@scottcarpenter241]

If it's so obvious, then why isn't it included in a description of the character? He's never described as rude. He's called a New Yorker, persnickety, dismissive, and annoyed, but not rude. While most of those terms may be a substitute for being rude, being a New Yorker is not. New Yorkers are more complex then this character. They wrote a simple, rude character, called him a New Yorker and shot the film. Being from NY is merely anecdotal and irrelevant to this story. @@AkuraTheAwesome

[@anilachar323]

How to counterpunch...or just duck and weave from big city rudeness...

[@thisisntahandle]

Small town? Uber? Okay

[@RebeccaLynnMusic]

Well, half-way through, I sure don't like this guy.

[@Cartier_specialist]

Curious.

[@masilomorake2876]

Shameless woman.

[@wheres_bears1378]

I don’t get it, how did he meet his match if he worked out she was lying ….. meh

[@sylvestervoigt9836]

I was just thinking of this one Taxi Cab Driver up at RIT that takes students to the Rochester NY Airport. This Guy will start a conversation about how the Students don't know anything about the French & Indian War and then Quiz You on some aspect like a Year of a certain Skirmish. It's a Gap in my War Resume for sure but He'll act in disgust and go "See, You Students just don't know what's important (I was around 50 lol). I'm waiting for my Air Pro's to charge before watching this Short but watched the Intro

[@clasencoach]

Er?

[@RebeccaLynnMusic]

David Sedaris. That makes sense. I can say that I'm just grateful I am not he.

[@rwik....170]

This movies makes me now .. not to tip to poor people

[@leahmonday1182]

quintessential behavior, these days! so Sad! lm

[@dagifelner9298]

Glad I m not living in America. It's so shallow

[@jazzyj6640]

He’s annoying.

[@tonysardjono2905]

Hilarious

[@jopax66]

Haha that was great…gotta work it!

[@leverman7517]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@trublu2556]

The Great Awakening is beginning..Asbury University in Kentucky.. and it's spreading across all the colleges across the United States and abroad.. the Great Commission it is time

[@supportvawa2213]

Yes! I volunteer at a thrift store in mountain Maryland. The pastor and his wife had taken their son to Asbury last month for him to follow in his father's footsteps when he graduates high school. They had no idea what was going on at the time and walked in on the first 48 hours of the worship service.

[@supportvawa2213]

@Nidemos_AA yes, it's true - that's the foundation of Christian beliefs.....but are we better off without it?

[@eugenethejeep72]

Ending sucked. Horrible person.

[@chadwhatcott8338]

🤩😍🥰Love!!!

[@telayajackson2.023]

So obviously the guy wasn't the jerk, the Uber driver was. Right?

[@louisaisthankful4603]

I think they both checked that box.

[@suraya1224]

He was, too.