What a fantastic short! I would not have picked up on Dr. Awkward being a palindrome without the help of other reviewers, so I wanted to add some thoughts to the theme as well. Did anybody notice that the shoulder bag strap that the human/rat wears is labeled with the infinity sign? That's when it occurred to me that the character isn't being referred to box 181, it's a call to return the character to the same struggle, over and over again, for infinity - the infinity sign is in between two parallel lines on the box key. Same DVD, same run, same message, and this snatch of time starts over again.What I enjoy about the theme is that the cycle continues only as long as the character lets it continue.There's some really interesting post-modern theology in this short: humanity's view of God, of time, of the "important" things in life.

It would have been better to have the instruction for the click on the roses on the first page so that the film did not have to be viewed twice. I thought that was a waste of time. Actually, one viewing was quite enough. I did not see the palindrome until I read the comments of others. In my opinion, that was the most clever part of the film. I felt it was a waste of time and I could have been out "smelling the roses." But, the product placement was interesting and I like the actor. I look forward to viewing the rest of the films in the series and hope they are more interesting. Also, I did not know about the ten line summary and had to rewrite and lose this several times. I am a person of few words.

A simple commentary on the life of a typical person in today's world, those who are running through life and not getting anywhere. Most people simply exist in this world, they do not live their lives to the fullest. His life is directed by something as simple and ridiculous as cartoon characters, symbolic of how simple and ridiculous the things that direct most peoples lives today. The homeless man is symbolic of where that gets you in life, which is old, broken down. The new pair of shoes symbolic of material possessions but what does it really mean when your life is over? The rose seller is of course representative of stopping to enjoy the life you are living.

... to smell the roses sometimes... very nice short. POSSIBLE SPOILER I can appreciate the need to simply refuse to be rushed or have life commanded/directed by the time-clock. Great message in the film. Blair Underwood was excellent in conveying the frantic nature of the average joe's life in chasing the dream or hurrying to what comes next. He also conveyed the relief of letting go well at the film's end. Taking off the watch was pretty much the final stroke in not allowing himself to be controlled by time and worried about being on time cause some unknown force say you have to be. Enjoy life and take our time getting to the "next" thing... that's the message I carried form the film.