Kabluey

I saw Kabluey, and after hearing many good things about it, I have to say it probably is one of 2008's best surprises.

Technically, it is from 2007, but it came out this year. It is a very genuine little independent comedy with a lot of heart. There are a lot of films like that out there, but this one stands out. The screenplay is very well written. It has a lot of laugh-out-loud laughs, and some laughs that you wonder how much they make sense with the story. It has some flaws, but overall, it has great developed characters, characters that sometimes may not always be likable. It is a story about how a mother's brother-in-law has to help her raise her kids, and also raise some money, since her husband is at war in Iraq. Throughout this story, we see a lot of events that change her and her brother-in-law. It is, overall, a black, sometimes, dark, comedy film. It has a lot of hidden themes about how the war impacts family, and also about loyalty and responsibility. It is sometimes uneven, and sometimes some scenes are too overfilled with humor, but when its good, it's really good.

Part of the reason this film works well is because of the great acting. Scott Prendergast plays his character of the loser brother-in-law Salman very well, and he makes my line-up of Best Actor(but will eventually fall out). But Lisa Kudrow is the one that gives the monumental performance. She has less scenes than Prendergast, but the scenes she has her character is very in depth. She has to give her character of Leslie a lot, real humanity, pain and exhaustion for her kids, and also sort of depressed, stressed, and sometimes even unlikeable. She really reminds me of a lot of real life mothers that get stressed out easily. I have never seen Kudrow like this, it's really a great performance, a subtle one. As of now, she is my Best Actress winner, and I think she might stay in my line-up in the end of the year, if not then top 10 for sure. I think she deserves Oscar Buzz.

Overall, a great little movie. Better than films that really are not always that good(Juno), and just as great as Little Miss Sunshine. I think the Academy should keep this film's screenplay, and Lisa Kudrow, for consideration. For those who have not seen it, please see it, makes a lot of the films this year look bad.

Quirky and unexpected are probably the best ways to describe this film. Lisa Kudrow is actually pretty convincing as the burned-out army wife and gives a pretty solid performance throughout. Mainly I was impressed at the subtlety of her acting, which was refreshing after seeing some of her other characters (the smelly-cat-singing Phoebe will always be a lingering specter for Kudrow). Scott Prendergast captured the socially-inept, guy-that-never-got-his-act-together-after-high-school character pretty well and manages to drive the story with very little actual dialogue, emotion or expression, which is kind of the point of his character. His performance was actually pretty refreshing. I think the writer/director did a good job of portraying the embellished strangeness of small town middle America without ripping off Napoleon Dynamite. The ending was well done and the soundtrack is really good and kind of makes the movie come together.

I saw this film at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan.

Kabluey is a wildly entertaining and hilarious film. Scott Prendergast, the writer, director, and star of the film, made a very creative comedy that's so much fun to watch.

Leslie (Lisa Kudrow) needs help taking care of her two wild kids because her husband is off fighting in Iraq. Her brother-in-law Salman (Prendergast) decides to help out, after all, he needs a place to stay anyway after recently getting fired. But Salman has no idea what he's gotten himself into. The two children (perfectly played by Landon Henninger and Cameron Wofford) are far too much to handle and do everything they can to make Salman's life miserable. And somehow Salman manages to get a job as a mascot for Leslie's company.

I loved this movie, it's a very clever script. Sure, it's sort of a familiar story about a guy trying to look after some wild kids, but there are so many original and inventive moments throughout, especially the entire story of Salman as the office mascot. I also loved all of the little touches throughout, things in the background that aren't don't further the plot but add to the comedy. And Conchata Ferrell steals the show a Salman's employer. Every moment she's on screen is hysterical, she's so perfect at comedy, I wish she had a movie of her own.

There are many huge laughs throughout this film. Everyone at the screening was laughing wildly and applauding during many scenes. It really is a wonderful film and I hope people get a chance to see it. Seek out this film, watch it, and then spread the word.

This is a very amusing fish out of water story with the director playing the lead role. In a nutshell, the story concerns a woman(Lisa Kudrow)desperate for some help taking care of her kids while her husband is off fighting in Irak. She has to go back to work but cannot afford daycare for her two "monsters".Cue the husband's loser brother who has nowhere to go,no money and no idea how to take care of himself, let alone two pre-school kids. He eventually gets a job wearing a ridiculous blue suit and handing out fliers in the middle of a highway to promote an Internet company( check out the poster to see this thing). Pendergast, making his first feature, reminds me very much of Woody Allen, in his early days. He is excellent at finding the humor in an ordinary situation and does not resort to cheap laughs. In many cases we see just the result of a situation and can pretty much tell what has happened just from surveying the damage. A perfect example is his first day of babysitting. All we see is the mother leaving for work and then arriving later to find him and the two kids fast asleep on the living room floor with fruit loops everywhere(and I mean everywhere), the TV blasting and generally everything in disorder. He could have shown us moments from his day but this is so much better because as we survey the disaster zone, we can just imagine what kind of a day he has had. Lisa Kudrow gets top billing and is OK in her limited role as the harried mother who is desperate for her husband to return and just does not know what to do. Christine Taylor and Terri Garr both put in what are essentially cameos but to good effect. The two kids are never cute or coy and this helps make them much more human. They do not like this uncle who has appeared out of nowhere but a bond does eventually form with him. A lot of the humor comes from the blue suit and the character's difficulty in doing such simple things as handing out fliers or drinking while wearing it. Pendergast is excellent as the out-of-his-element Salman, whose name everyone mispronounces. The rest of the cast is very good with a special mention to Conchata Ferrell as the HR person who hires Penedergast. I saw this film at the Montreal Film Festival with the director present and the audience really responded well. I hope this film gets a major distribution deal. Penedergast is a director with a lot of potential. I give this film 8 blue suits out of 10.

Saw Kabluey at the Austin Film Festival last eve, and walked out loving the film. Logically, I know it shouldn't be surprising to see a low-budget film capture characters that are so real, and yet do parody and comedy so well. Kids sitting behind me laughed at all the same spots I did. It manages to stay in the realm of indy-odd, but deliver a well-crafted plot line, and characters that you love. A sprinkling of well recognized actors who give great performances...loved Conchata Ferrell. Scott Pendergrass holds it together through the entire film.

Scott Pendergrass afterward said there might be an announcement coming next week at the Hamptons festival, so hopefully it will sign a distribution deal. This film deserves to be widely seen.