Most thrifters don’t expect to find shoes that make them float or a jacket that grants them super strength; however, Super Thrift, a short film written and directed by University of Memphis freshman John McCarthy, subverts these expectations. On top of the unconventional premise, the director, actors and production crew for this film were all high schoolers in Memphis during production. 

“Pretty much me and the people who were like, the main actors kind of started … just like having like little group sit-downs and we would throw ideas at each other and eventually I started writing kind of like a screenplay and then like a script and we kind of went from there,” McCarthy said. 

After brainstorming with his friends, McCarthy developed the plot of the short film around the idea of thrifting. Super Thrift weaves a tale of reconnection between a group of friends as they explore the magical effects of their friend Lorenzo trying to change up his style for a girl he likes.

“[In the film,] the protagonist … wants to impress [his crush] by going to the thrift store and he finds a pair of shoes that can give him the ability to fly, and they realize that there’s a jacket under the same brand,” McCarthy said. “And when they go back to get the jacket because they’re like ‘Maybe the jacket has superpowers,’ actually they find out that the girl he’s trying to impress just bought the jacket and … the jacket gives the ability [of] super strength.” 

On the set of Super Thrift, McCarthy simultaneously recorded the scenes and directed the actors, channeling significant creative energy into the project. However, his passion for film and photography is nothing new. McCarthy has harbored an interest in these subjects since he was young due to the influence of his father, Mike McCarthy, who is also a filmmaker. 

“I got into like photography and film … thanks to my dad, like, there’s cameras just like all over the house,” McCarthy said. “And that’s kind of how I got into it because I would just start to pick them up and see which ones worked and which ones didn’t and kind of use what I had at my disposal.” 

Unlike big-budget Hollywood productions, almost every person involved, from the actors to the set assistants, were Memphis high schoolers who already knew each other and were excited to work together. In particular, the prior relationships between the actors were key to creating convincing chemistry for the camera without feeling forced.  

“It was just like a group of friends hanging out, you know,” Spence Herrington (12), a set assistant for Super Thrift, said. “That’s what it was. I think there were a few times we had like, actual actors, like adults yeah, but it was mostly just like I knew all these people before, you know, and they just made a movie.”

The relationships between the cast and crew culminated in a tight-knit culture on set. Filming was compressed into a short time period when everyone was available, and despite the intensive productivity of the schedule, a supportive atmosphere surrounded the production. 

“The only times we really filmed were in, like, the dead of winter and in the dead of summer, so my dad would kind of stick around, and like when we would film in the winter if people weren’t on screen, he would throw blankets over them,” McCarthy said. “And if people weren’t on screen in the summer, we would have, like, ice and wet rags and Gatorades to throw out. And then there [were] people like Spence [Herrington], who helped out a lot by kind of doing things behind set …  It was a very small group of people [working on the movie] but everyone had their role and everyone was just playing their part. It was really fun but it could definitely get stressful.” 

The soundtrack of the movie features music from local Memphis artist Geepmane. McCarthy brought Geepmane into the project as the two have been friends for several  years.

“[Geepmane’s] music normally is like rap, like Internet rap,” Herrington said. “It’s like it’s weird. It’s goofy. He talks about like brewing potions and, like wizardly stuff. I like it.” 

For the editing and post-production work, McCarthy worked with video content producer and film editor Justin Thompson. McCarthy worked in the studio with Thompson over several weeks refining the footage and creating the finished film. 

“One of my dad’s friends who actually helped him edit some of his movies back in like the ‘90s, he still has like a small studio to this day and he offered [to help],” McCarthy said. “He was just like, ‘Hey, I know you guys are working on this and like, I used to help your dad. So let me help you’ … He helped us out a lot.”

When Super Thrift was finished, the Malco Studio on the Square played the short film as a precursor to Teenage Tupelo, one of Mike McCarthy’s films, which was being shown to commemorate its Blu-ray release. 

“My dad … came up to me [and] was just like, ‘you know, if you finish this movie on time, you can play it like right before mine,’” McCarthy said. “And so that ended up happening and it was a really cool experience … It was honestly very strange because it was my first time seeing [Teenage Tupelo], but there [were] like weird connections between our movies … like both of them are about a group of kids and everything.”

Even after Super Thrift was completed, the group remained invested in the project. So much so that they are considering creating a sequel to the film. Though many members of the project, including McCarthy, have parted ways for college, this is viewed as more of an opportunity than a setback. McCarthy believes they could take advantage of filming locations at different colleges for a possible future project.

“When we got Super Thrift out to the theater and kind of finished it for the most part, I texted the group chat [and] I was like, ‘you know, we got it out there like, thank you guys all so much for everything you’ve done,’” McCarthy said. “But I was like, ‘Here now is your chance to leave before we start something else. You have now to leave.’ And nobody left. So I was just kind of like, ‘Alright, well then you’re stuck with me and we’re doing this again.’”