With Hey Mr. Postman, writer/producer Brian Berry does what's mandatory but nearly impossible in indie comedy: He manages to fully replace a crowded boardroom of six-figure writers by delivering hilarious and warming comedy at a major studio level.
From wire-to-wire, Hey Mr. Postman is one of those rare, consistently laugh-out-loud films. Berry and director Mike Berry - who almost inexplicably aren't related - could've taken a great Everyman script and hosed it with average casting. But with each role, they knew exactly who and what was required for these uniquely written characters. As Brian Lincoln, Walter Franks anchors it down as the Postman in question; he's fired from another job early on, and with that inciting incident begins his comedic road to redemption...by way of the post office, of course, and a subplot that has a bit of drama to counterpoint the slapstick. Franks is complemented in grand style by some really phenomenal and bigger-than-life character sketches (a favorite was the over-the-top employee trainer who takes his post office job no less seriously than drill sergeant Louis Gossett Jr. did his in An Officer And A Gentleman). These folks aren't just there to deliver gags; each has purpose in advancing this fun and funny-as-hell story, and each gives the film a ton of memorable and distinguishing dimension.
Because it's massively entertaining, Hey Mr. Postman deserves the type of word-of-mouth advocacy that an indie comedy must have to break from a pack of lesser imitators. Here's hoping Brian Berry and his group find that initial wave of viewers who can then stump for this great comedy and push it out word-of-mouth to the masses, who will be all the better for having seen this one.
