The Corndog Man

The first several minutes of this film we do not see anyone's face. It seems that we are not supposed to feel connected with the characters just yet. And we never see the antagonist's face, save for a few sunglasses close-ups. And that works for the film. Ace, the man being harassed, is a sad sack with no friends or family and it's quite depressing. The whole phone-call thing is interesting at first, but the film could have been about 20 minutes shorter. It gets old. Ace seems to be a bigot mostly due to the atmosphere he was brought up in, and peer pressure. Why he is seen as an all-out bigot in 1997 is a mystery to me, and I still don't get the whole black drag-queen thing. The film is worth a look, if you enjoy human storytelling and smalltown locales, which I do. It was well-directed with a lot of nifty camera shots. I will be interested in seeing Andrew Shea's other dir

I read through most of the reviews here, and unless I missed it, did anyone get that triple K is KKK, for Ku Klux Klan? Maybe it was so obvious that no one bothered mentioning it.. Maybe not. Well, my brother forced this video on me a while back, and I must admit I enjoyed it, mainly for its originality and mean spirited sense of humor. Like someone else mentioned, its a breath of fresh air from all of the huge budgeted, over-produced CGI-fests that Hollywood keeps pooping out! For those of you who didn't like it, don't worry. I'm sure there's a new Ben Stiller "comedy" coming out soon. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is that it does strain your patience a bit.

Alternately Titled: Would You Buy A Boat From This Man?

I was browsing in Blockbuster earlier this year and bought a copy of The Corndog Man. I saw the title and had a flashback to a review I'd read. Part Psychic Movie Reviewer, part compulsive reader of reviews, I knew that this one would be a winner. Plus it was marked down to $6.99 . . . a steal!

I highly recommend this film, which was a winner at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

First of all, let me say that the late character actor Noble Willingham has been on my radar for years. An all American type physically: The Marlboro Man meets That Squarejawed Guy Who Does Pain Relief Commercials. He is almost unrecognizable now, and totally believable as Southern racist boat salesman Ace Barker. He is compellingly, depressingly real in this role.

As good old boy Ace Barker plies his trade selling boats at Triple K Marine, the harassing phone calls and stalking begin. Ace becomes quite exasperated as he monitors for sales calls, only to be repeatedly confronted by a seemingly unbalanced young man who claims to be his son.

The Corndog Man takes Southern stereotypes to a new level. ACTING! I hope.

Filmed on location near Charleston SC, it is an atmospheric film with a bluesy soundtrack. Oppressively small-town conspiratorial --- could this be an omen for visitors: simply stay on I-95 and drive.

An unpredictable tale of harassment, revenge, desperation, and old secrets, The Corndog Man reminds us that what goes around, comes around. Watch your back. Watch your front. Watch your future. Watch your past. Change it if possible.

Got 83 minutes, and a desire to see something different? Shock and confuse the movie clerk by asking for this one.

Potentially disturbing . . . not recommended for all tastes!

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.

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.