Schiffsjunge ahoi!

No, not in the 'it's so bad it's good' way. I truly think it's one of the funnier comedies of the last 20 years or so. Perhaps a lot of it depends on how you feel about Chris Elliot to begin with. I think he's priceless. Used to love his old show Get A Life and have followed him ever since. The plot of this, kind of a twisted version of Captains Courageous, really doesn't matter. What's fun are the numerous sight gags, Elliot's constant barrage of sarcastic one-liners and the generally anything goes attitude of the whole enterprise. The ship's crew, filled with a number of character actors we're not used to seeing in this kind of thing, are a wonderfully sleazy bunch. David Letterman's hysterically amateurish cameo at the beginning is the stuff of legend. "Wanna buy a monkey?" Ha! OK Citizen Kane it ain't. I own that on DVD btw. Right next to it is Cabin Boy.

I have been a loyal fan of Chris Elliott since his early appearances on

Letterman. This movie is typical of what happens when Elliott is given creative control -- wry, warped humour delivered in such a deadpan manner that you

don't know whether he is laughing at himself or if he really is a simp. This movie has given me countless hours of debate with fans and non-fans, as I have only encountered one other person who enjoyed Cabin Boy. We often lament Chris

Elliott's underrated genius and dream of the day when Cabin Boy takes its

rightful place in film history as a classic. Hard to believe its already been ten years since its release and I still crack up every time I watch it. Only thing that could top it would be a sequel -- Passion of the Cabin Boy, perhaps?

Those who gained their initial fame on television -- even at the highest level and with top popularity -- have often found their feature films finishing at the other end of the scale. Bill Cosby and Ray Romano are two examples of this -- Bill Murray one of the few exceptions.

Chevy Chase has had some sporadic success, and even Martin Short -- one of the comedic geniuses of all-time -- has found his big-screen offerings sporadic.

I think one of the reasons is that we are just too used to seeing them on the small screen, and/or in the characters/personas with which we have become accustomed. It also seems that their films often seem to be stories which would lend them to 10- or 12-minute skits, or the 22 minutes or so contained within a half hour program.

Chris Elliott avoids this completely in this funny presentation. He succeeds in taking this character over-the-top, with the same quirky skill we've seen him employ on television so often.

At 80 minutes, he also avoids making it overlong, and the supporting cast and Letterman's cameo are all well-presented, too.

It's "quirkiness" is likely the reason this film didn't receive a higher overall rating in this site, and among professional reviewers.

However, for me it's a thoroughly entertaining and engaging movie, and best of all, funny as hell.

When I first saw this, I didn't particularly dislike, let alone vehemently dislike it like so many others did. I thought it was humorous.

I have been thinking about Cabin Boy ( I last saw it some months ago), and in a way, Chris Elliotts brand of humour was ahead of its time. As I write this, I had the idea that this is the exact reason why the Farrelly's cast him in Something About Mary. Look at the humour that has come out the last 10 years. Much of it is about idiots. Idiots doing the stupidest things, saying the stupidest things, and reveling in it. And my generation (bitter end of Gen X, very beginning of Y) grew up being stupid. What I mean is that my friends and I joke around, but by being stupid for our own amusement. We lower ourselves. WHy so many 24+ year olds love Jackass is because so many of us were like that in late 90's early 00's..

And Elliot was one of the first. Handsome Boy modeling school (Get a Life)? Gotta love it. Spewey(also Get a Life)? This isn't high comedy. It is about an un-innocent moron. No one has any love for this guy. He is a loser. How many comedies were before this about unlikable losers? The Jerk was an innocent. Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello? Always innocents.

One of Elliot's problems is that he's a bad actor. But he was onto something. Come one, it not that bad!

I recently found this DVD in the bargin bin at WalMart and couldn't have been more pleased with the discovery. I first saw it in 1995 and scenes and dialouge from the movie have been stuck in my mind ever since. This movie is absolute fun with a smart and hyperbolic humor that is far removed from the flatulence jokes of most recent Hollywood junk. The movie is intentionally what it is, the acting, the jokes and the situations, the combination of which makes it artfully hilarious. This movie is in no way intended to be the best movie ever made and so those who have commented that it is the worst movie ever made have completely missed the point. The worst movies ever made are those which ascribe to and are promoted as being on a level that they fall painfully short of, a recent example being God's and Generals. One should expect painful and unique silliness from Chris Elliot, which is what the movie delievers. I agree with those who write that this movie will be better appreciated in times to come.