Return to Liam Sullivan

Where Do You Think You’re Going In That?

26 August 2008
Liam Sullivan’s latest addition to the Kelly series, “Where Do You Think You’re Going In That” shows Kelly’s struggle to agree with her mother on fashion. It’s no doubt we’re in for an exciting ride. As clearly outlined by her mother, if Kelly wears clothes such as this, people are going to assume she’s a transvestite (a humorous reference to Liam Sullivan, who dresses in woman’s clothing to portray his character Kelly).

The movie begins styled as a classic black and white film sequence. We see Kelly’s mother sitting on the couch as she happily reads her pamphlet “What Would Jesus Do?” The filmmakers waste no time in recognizing that this pamphlet is meant for ages fifty-five and older. She begins to read the first entry that acknowledges you should love thy neighbor. However, her moment of reflection is quickly interrupted when she sees a “poorly-dressed” Kelly walk down the stairs. Consequently, the first words out of her mother’s mouth are “Where do you think you’re going in that?”

In an attempt to protect her child from real-world dangers, Kelly’s mom demands she march upstairs and change her outfit. However, Kelly appears to perceive otherwise. Despite being utterly upset, she reluctantly makes her way upstairs. Unfortunately, not long after she turns around does her mother notice a Chinese tattoo inscribed on her lower back. “Is that a tattoo?” she exclaims, “Tattoos are from the devil!” Kelly makes her way to her bedroom and as she opens her dresser drawer, she sees what appears to be a hallucination of her mother. As she falls to the ground in shock, the screen cuts to black.

At this point, the video changes from black and white to color as we see Kelly at a modeling agency posing for a photo shoot. She is surrounded by numerous assistants helping her with her outrageous and extravagant outfits. As the video progresses, Kelly’s wardrobe becomes more and more ridiculous as her mother’s becomes increasingly frustrated with her. In an attempt to influence her daughter’s clothing choice, Kelly’s mother insists that boys simply want to “get in her tutu”.

By the end of the video, Kelly finally decides to change her outfit. Her mother watches over as she leaves the house with her friend. However, she firmly reiterates to herself that tattoos are in fact from the devil!

Personal Review
I have always been amazed by Liam Sullivan and the talent he possesses. What started with a humorous video about shoes has now escalated to an even greater audience. This installment is equally as excellent as the rest and there is nothing I would like to have seen done differently. Liam and his crew do an outstanding job with maintaining their cast and deliver a video that is beyond incredible.

I was certainly amazed by the style of this video. It was shot in a way that reflects many popular music videos that are around today. I particularly enjoyed the transitions made from the present time to Kelly’s dream sequence as a model. By utilizing this transition, we were able to see that no matter how hard she tries, Kelly is not able to escape the overbearing nature of her mother. The idea behind this successfully fueled what the main purpose of this video was.

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality and humor of this video. If you are a fan of the now-viral Kelly series, you’ll surely find a liking to this video. A round of applause to director Liam Sullivan, cinematographer Eduardo Cisneros and Pam Cook who did a phenomenal job as the role of Kelly’s mother.