Kabluey

A low-fi indie, Kabluey is about a ne'er-do-well uncle moving in with his sister-in-law to help her raise her two sons while the boys father is in Iraq. Initially, the uncle, Salman (Scott Pendergast), is supposed to babysit the boys while their mom (Lisa Kudrow... I know, right?) can go back to work. Salman can't handle the job, so he has to get a "real job," dressed up as an AOL-like logo, handing out fliers. The film is billed as a comedy--as the trailer shows--but that's not necessarily the case.


When I saw the trailer for this movie when it was released to theaters (a very limited release) back in July, I was intrigued, but I figured there were plenty of other movies to watch. However, it got good reviews, and even ended up on a top #20 films of 2008 list. So I changed my mind and put it in my Blockbuster queue.

Scott Pendergast, the film's writer, director, and star, goes for the trifecta, but does not have the stellar results that other recent films have had. A relative unknown, Pendergast puts forth a good first effort, but I think he could've used some help with the writing. All of the characters--including Pendergast--are all underdeveloped, and Kudrow's character is so annoying that I had a hard time mustering up sympathy or compassion for her plight. Furthermore, Pendergast--the writer/director--relies far too much on the humor generated by the juxtaposition of the Kabluey costume and [insert background here]. This wouldn't be the first time a movie has overused a gag, but it certainly lessens the laughter over time.

Final Grade: B-
Blurb: Don't believe the hype. It's a fine movie, which can be surprisingly touching at times, but it's humor isn't humor-ific enough. This is a case of Metacritic (62/100) being more accurate than Rotten Tomatoes (88% fresh). If you have to rent a movie with a dude in a costume, might I suggest the low-budget, needle-in-the-haystack film The Dark Knight. :)