Who's the Caboose?

A coworker let me borrow a tape of this unreleased gem. I'm not even a big fan of "mockumentary". But this really works. The performances are just right, not overplayed. The writing or the improvisation is very nicely done, it feels real without being too campy. David Cross has two riotous cameos. It even works dramatically.

It seems like an obvious subject -- actors flying out to L.A. for pilot season -- but I've seen a lot of actor friends make that pilgrimage and I haven't seen too many shows that really deal with it. (Well, except "The It Factor".)

If you can find this somewhere, watch it.

'Who's the Caboose?' is a daringly unvarnished look at the shark- infested waters of Hollywood's double-talk and ruthlessly superficial professional relationships formed during "Pilot Season," and the desperation boiling beneath the surface of the scene.

I appreciate that the mockumentary format serves the authenticity of the story but it's realism is earned at a great sacrifice; the film is not engaging, it successfully delivers a very authentic feeling story but the intentional blandness of 'real-life' negates any possible emotion we might be feeling for the characters.

The movie explores the uphill battle of actors breaking from underground comedy clubs to mainstream sitcom success but what struck me the most was how many fantastic comedians are criminally underutilized in their comedic capacity. Naturally mischievous Sarah Silverman portraying an irritable and neurotic bore, ludicrously funny David Cross barely gets a peek of screen time and H. John Benjamin whose wry voice you have heard in so many great cartoons playing an officious, effervescent lawyer. It's an arm-wrestle between miscast roles and an aggressively dry script.

It's okay, but if you sort-of liked what you saw, I recommend watching the far superior 'Swingers' which came out a year prior, similar fare but done with greater style and a more engaging emotional core.

This movie will air soon on PBS. My girlfriend works for WGBH in Boston and brought a VHS copy home. Despite the questionable title (which I still don't quite get) this is a fantastic, clever, self-assured movie. A few familiar faces pop up in it (notably Andy Dick, and the crazy UFO guy from Waiting for Guffman), but for the most part all the faces were new to me. The film takes the shape of a mockumentary, and the story follows a stand-up comic from New York and her boyfriend as she heads to LA for pilot season and he tags along. Gradually, the boyfriend gets sucked into the LA lifestyle and begins hunting as frantically as everyone else for a TV deal. Then their relationship (never exactly healthy and stable) begins to break down. Along the way, LA culture is mercilessly skewered, but don't make up your mind that this is just a shot at LA-- everyone is raked over the coals before the final shot, and you won't quite guess what's really happening until the last scene. This is one of those small independent films so full of brilliant performers you can't imagine how you haven't seen them all before. Nearly every performance is note-perfect and hilarious. Watch TV listings for this one, and do not miss it.

Killer film. Great script. A must see.

Way to go Sam!

I caught this feature film mockumentary about a female comedian (Sarah Silverman) moving to New York from LA for pilot season on TRIO, along with its TV series. David Cross, Kathy Griffin, and Andy Dick all make appearances, and it is pretty funny. Not as funny, however, as "Pilot Season", a spin-off of WHO'S THE CABOOSE?, with most of the same people, and guest appearances by Matt Besser of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and Isla Fisher of WEDDING CRASHERS. I am loathe to say that the most fascinating part of the film was being reminded of what Kathy Griffin looked like pre-plastic surgery, but it was. After that, though, I was impressed by the knowledge that Sarah Silverman would have a great movie career if only everyone stopped casting her as the bitch (her character name in WAY OF THE GUN is actually "Raving Bitch"), a fact that is a joke on "Pilot Season".