Kabluey DVD review

The Film:

I’m getting sick of the term “quirky comedies”. What makes them “quirky”? Thank Wes Anderson and his films for establishing this term, not copied and used on almost everything indie based, when dealing with comedies. I like Wes Anderson a lot, but the indie world loves to copy him. Not Scott Prendergast, who wrote, starred, and directed this little gem of a film called Kabluey.

The film begins with a woman (Lisa Kudrow) who has a husband in Iraq and had the unfortunate proposition that Bush called for another tour of duty. She’s at wits end trying to keep her head up as well as caring for her unruly kids and making ends meet. Something’s about to give. On a phone call to her mother it’s suggested that maybe Salman (Scott Prendergast) helps while she gets back to work. Salman is her husband’s brother, but a loser in many respects. But what else can she do?

Kabluey is naturalistically funny, nothing dated here. Prendergast avoids politics as well as easy jokes. His characters aren’t caricatures but fully realized human beings, a key distinction when comparing this film to other “quirky comedies”. Yes, each character has odd mannerisms but they are not there for the sake of odd. Most of the comedy comes from Salman trying to take care of his two nephews. These kids are brats. The film has more to offer than jokes, there’s a heart and sentimentality in the film half of the film which the film completely earns while avoiding the easy way out.

The film is anchored by a great cast, especially Lisa Kudrow. She’s down-beat, scarred, but provides the heart of the picture. She played against the comedy with great turns by Conchata Ferrell and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, but everything revolves around Scott Prendergast. Once he gets in the Kabluey suit, almost everything he does as well as anything around him is hilarious. The suit is visually striking, a blue cushy tomb. The funniest scenes come from when he rotates himself backwards in the suit then runs.

I can’t recommend Kabluey enough. It’s a funny, smart, little gem, worthy of discovery. It’s funnier than most comedies this year and is easily memorable. I’m very eager to see what Scott Prendergast does next, because he has the comedy timing down pat in front of the camera as well as behind. Kabluey shouldn’t be missed.

 

The DVD:

Audio/Video: The picture isn’t the best, but you can attribute that to the low budget nature of the production. It’s good just not great. Being a comedy, the audio is what it is, nothing special, but clear and warming.

Deleted Scenes: Perhaps worthy of being deleted, but that shouldn’t stop you from these 17 minutes. There is some really funny stuff like the “zombie pills” and continued fixation with laminating, one of Salman’s fixations in the film. Good stuff.

Conclusion: Even though you might not have heard of it, Kabluey is a winner, a film worthy of praising and seeing as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed.

Rating: