The Corndog Man

I just watched this gem on video and I immediately recognized the source of the story. About seven years ago I heard some crank call tapes that were circulating here in Florida. These calls victimized a southern car salesman and were made by some college students doing "cracker" type accents. The calls started out semi-legit but degenerate into total harassment just like the "Red" or "Tube Bar Bastard" calls. This film is worlds better than the "Red" movie because the director along with two other writers actually synthesize a feature length story(a little cliched- but good) around the premise and create a HILARIOUS movie. Noble Winningham really shines in this film and I give it TEN THUMBS UP, YOU WILL PISS IN YOUR PANTS FROM LAUGHING.(especially if you've heard those tapes)

Aronofsky didn't make this film. However, it may be little more than the dialect that separates this uniquely disturbing bent of storytelling from his. As a third generation piece of poor white trash, I can vouch for the language. Dead on, trust me. And as a native Southerner, I must sadly confirm that in certain rural pockets, this brand of racist garbage still exists. But the ultimate fate, and apparent past, of the protagonist of this film proved strange enough to wreck my sleep for at least three nights. To say that I liked this film would be amiss. A-way-the-hell-miss, in fact. But the storytelling is taut and cerebral. And it's cinematic impact is pretty powerful. Next time you feel like you're going to scream at another Meg Ryan romantic comedy or another Bruce Willis explosion movie, try this one on for size.

loved it! what's better than seeing a racist idiot get the crap scared out of him by a smart little scumbag? heeelarious! i guess i grew up around too many people like the old fat white guy to have any sympathy for him. some funny, memorable lines. worth the price of a rental if only to find out what one might be able to do if one has a rubber neck!

This is a true independent film: a low budget, a strong story, no familiar actors, no familiar director and a production company I will probably never hear about again.

The story is about as simple as stories get: one man, employed at a boat shop, starts receiving harassing phone calls from another man who claims to be his son. The calls increase throughout the movie and we piece by piece see the connection between the two men.

This film relies almost entirely on dialogue and vulgar language (with such expressions as "you can kiss a good man's ass"). There is not much for action. The film could be considered a comedy with the humorous exchanges between the two men and the antics that ensue, but underneath it all is a drama and a social commentary on race relations.

This film will make you want to smoke and eat corn dogs. So make sure you purchase corn dogs before watching the movie or you will regret this. I recommend the film, although it's not something you would watch at a party or with a special friend. Invite over that kid who likes "Clerks" and "Slacker"... they'll appreciate this one.

This film was thrust upon me by one of my more assertive friends, Pat. Pat's tastes and mine rarely mesh when it comes to movies, and when he put it in the vcr and insisted I see it, I wasn't too thrilled. But I must admit, I found it interesting. I knew nothing about it, so when I see this boat salesman resembling Boss Hogg answering the phone and hearing a goofily - voiced prank caller, I assumed it would be just one of several things that would be annoying and pointless. And at first, that is what I got. With every phone ring, and every chant of the man answering "Triple K Marine!" I was annoyed and confused. Is this the whole movie?

Well, as it turns out, yes. But then a cool thing happened. The phone calls, while at first irritating, start to get less so when you do realize that they're the cornerstone of the entire film. Why does this prankster keep calling the boat salesman, and how much is the poor sap willing to take? Thus the movie became slowly more engrossing, and little by very little, more important information is revealed. It turns out there is more to this telephone terrorist than we at first think, and every new bit of information is awkwardly digested by the poor old boat salesman as we watch and wait to see what happens and what choices must be made.

The ending is open to debate as to whether it made the whole slow buildup worth it, but I myself think it was. It's a good movie with a good (albeit maybe sad) ultimate message, even if it does take a long time to slowly unroll. But I must give credit to the script and the actors who perform it, because what could be a relentlessly maddening hour and a half of uninteresting phone conversations, is skillfully turned into an interesting and funny (and finally dramatic) story of two lives intersecting for a very legitamite reason. It's worth watching, if not just to hear the goofy phone calls (one of which features my favorite line, quoted at the top) and the even goofier reactions of the beleagered boat guy. Unique fun and drama, and an interesting surprise.