Joel Fry has been in quite a few shorts, and as I’ve learned from many an actor deep-dive, shorts can be elusive sometimes. But lucky for me, a lot of his are available online—good old Vimeo! And 96 Ways to Say I Love You is a project that doubles as an Other Doctor Lives piece, since it also features David Tennant.
Olive and Al are both nervously preparing to say “I love you.” Their friends think they’re crazy and “cringe,” but they don’t care. In between their story, we see several When Harry Met Sally-style interviews with different couples, talking about their own experience with the phrase.
For a 10-minute short, we get a nice assortment of characters, and we’re given a pretty decent idea of who most of them are. With the interviews, we see several interactions with two different couples (plus one widow,) painting a picture of each relationship. There’s a definite mix of positive and negative—no one’s completely hopeless, and no one’s idealistically perfect, either.
Georgia Tennant is super cute as Olive. A hopeless romantic in a cynical world, she’s bubbly and dreamy-eyed. And although she’s nervous about saying “I love you,” she has no room for cynicism. When a friend warns, “What if he doesn’t say it back?”, Olive says, “I don’t know. Fuck it, life’s too short! I’ve gotta get it out!”
We’ll go to Joel Fry next, since he plays Al. He’s even more nervous about the whole “I love you” thing than Olive, adorably anxious as he psychs himself up. He tries smiling in the mirror while he brushes his teeth, then lets out a groan of existential dread. He practices his speech, jittery, and laments, “God, I just sound like a Richard Curtis fucktard!” The man is stressed. Al has a cynical friend too, one who thinks he’s making a huge mistake and warns, “She’s gonna throw up all over your face.” But despite how anxious he is, Al insists, “I’m still gonna do it.”
Such a sweet disaster of a character! Fry’s physicality here makes me think of Frenchie—Al has the same sense of “arms and elbows everywhere,” and he fiddles with his hair when his hands need something to do. At this point, I’m guessing some of these mannerisms are Fry’s own body language, and they’re his go-tos when he needs to show one of his characters is uncomfortable, thinking, or anxious. Either way, I still love it.
This is of course a White Van Man reunion for Joel Fry and Georgia Tennant, both playing very counter to their characters on that show. Al and Olive are completely un-Darren-like and un-Emma-like, which probably made for a fun experience working together again.
David Tennant plays Mark. He and Lily, his partner of four years, are being interviewed, and let’s just say Mark isn’t nailing it. On some levels, he tries too hard, beginning with the faux-philosophical factoid, “You know, in Sanskrit, they have 96 words for [love], and all we can say is three.” When Lily points out that he’s said something problematic, he urgently whispers, “I wasn’t being racist!” before repeating it, louder, for the interviewer. And he really wants it known that they slept together before either of them said “I love you.” In short, he’s an insecure man who’s desperately trying to project confidence, and David Tennant isn’t afraid to really lean into the discomfort in these scenes.
Side note: as I was writing this, I realized that every actor in this short who’s familiar to me has been on Doctor Who. David Tennant, obviously, was both the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors. Georgia Tennant played Jenny in “The Doctor’s Daughter.” Olive’s friend is played by Ingrid Oliver, a.k.a. Osgood from UNIT. Nina Sosanya (Lily) was in the series 2 episode “Fear Her.” And although this short predates it by nearly ten years, Joel Fry went on to appear in the 2024 Christmas special “Joy to the World.” Even considering the small world of the U.K. acting industry, that’s pretty wild!
Accent Watch
Joel Fry – Southern British English, I think.
David Tennant – Scottish.
Recommend?
In General – Yes! It’s funny and sweet, and it’s only ten minutes long. Just go for it!
Joel Fry – I would. I love Al, he’s such a delightful mess!
David Tennant – I think so. Mark certainly isn’t a likable character, but Tennant plays him so well.
Warnings
Language, sexual references, and drinking.
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