Font of Knowledge

A washed-up word jockey and a sexy librarian team up to stop the world's deadliest font from falling into the clutches of the Commies in this mash-up of 1950s genres, from noir to sci-fi.

This piece starts out as a funny film-noir send-up with a language-arts motif, a sort of “Maltese Falcon” meets “Elements of Style.” Eventually it degenerates into a blend of so many styles and gags that it undercuts its promise. But it deserves points for strong acting, clever writing and wonderful design. Shelby Company puts a lot of effort into costume, sets, lighting, sound, even fight choreography. So what if the plot is something about aliens, Helvetica typeface and a sentence so bad that it can destroy the universe? It’s fun.