Cabin Boy

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!

While a number of critics have discussed at length "Cabin Boy"'s allusions to earlier sea epics, such as "Mutiny on the Bounty", "Moby Dick" and "Humanoids of the Deep", surprisingly little attention has been devoted to it's social commentary. Although it may, perhaps, be an overstatement to call Chris Elliot's script "revolutionary", its message has a decidedly socialist bent. In fact, I would venture to say that none of Elliot's other work, prior to OR since "Cabin Boy" has had a comparable impact on the way ship captains treat their crew - or for that matter, on the labor movement in general in this country. It's safe to say that the success of "Cabin Boy" is a product not only of Elliot's vision, but also a fortunate case of being "the right film at the right time", so to speak.

Additionally, the cast must be credited. Brian Doyle-Murray, Russ Tamblyn and many others give the performances of their careers. The stand-out, of course, was Ritch Brinkley in a magnificent portrayal of Captain Greybar, captain of "The Filthy Whore." Far from the stereotypical old salt sea captain, Brinkley's Greybar is hard, harsh, irritable and irrascible, and yet even-handed and even sensitive, giving a textured character which is so clearly missing from many other sea films. Particularly touching is the scene when Elliot's character, Nathanial Mayweather, serves "fish-stick kitties" for the crew's lunch. Words cannot describe the emotion that Brinkley's face conveys. It's so touching because it's true!

While "Cabin Boy" has its flaws, I have no doubt that it will be greatly appreciated by landlubbers and sea captains alike, particularly those who, like myself, started their careers as lowly cabin boys.

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.

Films are so much better today than anything made more than twenty years ago, especially comedies. This is one of the funniest films ever made. Just compare this film to anything that Jack Oakie was in and I think I can prove my point. Up until Cabin Boy I would have guessed no film could have been made to beat the comedy classic Meatballs 3, but as much as I adore that film, Cabin Boy surpasses it. If you like Meatballs 3 definately see Cabin Boy. If you don't like Meatballs 3, see Cabin Boy anyway because it is a funnier film. If you haven't seen Meatballs 3, skip it and watch Cabin Boy, it's a funnier film. Fans of Cabin Boys will tend to be younger and intelligent and critics will tend to be older and dumber. David Letterman does a cameo, but it's not very funny...probably because he's old.

Going into this movie, I thought it might get popped out of my VCR after about 15 minutes of viewing. I was not expecting to enjoy this choice my wife had made at the video store.

To my surprise, the movie is pretty funny and some of the ocean going scenes have a strong surrealistic feel to the cinematography that make the movie unique.

Chris Elliot's sun-induced bout of hallucinations alone is worth the price to rent this movie.