by Dan Cohen
We all know what comes with Summer; heat, humidity and studio blockbusters. School’s out, so in theory at least, every night is Saturday night. Adults are expected to take the kids, and more importantly pay for, an endless array of bloated comic book fare fired at us in fusillades of media. So far we’ve seen the good, “Indiana Jones,” “Ironman,” the bad, “Zohan,” “Love Guru,” “What Happens in Vegas,” and the ugly, “The Hulk.” And there’s more to come.
But another species is blooming in the art house garden, propping up our expectations for adult entertainment this summer. I’ve seen two flat out winners, and several also rans. I recommend them to you with the hope that one of more will somehow find its way into the local multiplex. This week, the winners.
“Kabluey,” (that’s right Kabluey) is more than a breath of fresh air, it’s a blast; the sort of quirky comedy that puts the studio output to shame. It’s superior in every department; writing, acting, even cinematography. And it’s a pipsqueak of a production.
Salman, the black sheep of a middle class family, is dispatched from virtual homelessness, to help his sister in law take care of two kids, while her husband, a national guardsman, is off on an extended stay in Iraq. The kids are monsters, the house a chaotic wreck and the mom, at her wits end. There’s no way a simple recap of the story can do justice to the comic invention and hilarity that follows. Somehow Salman ends up spending half his stay in an oversized blue creature suit, the “mascot” of a failed internet company, trying to rent office space in the cash starved companies headquarters.
“Kabluey” depicts our uniquely American disarray, social and economic, without a moment of pretension. The story simply plops us down in the middle of our current mess, with no comment. In that regard alone it’s a triumph. But there’s a lot more; a pitch perfect performance from the divinely inspired Lisa Kudrow, and a host of dead on supporting players; Conchatta Ferrell, Terri Garr, Christine Taylor and more. Writer/director Scott Prendergrast even succeeds in casting himself as the unfortunate “Salman.” Then there are a couple of truly mean little boys, another casting coup.
The movie borders on the absurd at times, but that’s a minor caveat. And the emotions it calls upon are well grounded in the realities of our current dilemmas. The comic high points, both high and low, reduce you to helpless laughter. For much of its running time, Kabluey takes you over completely; you’re helpless in its comic grasp, and all the better for it.
“Kabluey” is being released by Regent, a small LA based company. It will surely find theaters in the major cities, but whether it cracks the multiplex barrier is yet to be seen. And that’s a shame, because it’s so much smarter and funnier than it’s richer relations. That it wasn’t snapped up by one of the mini majors points to the dysfunctional state of current distribution.
“Boy A,” which is being released by the Weinstein Company, is almost the polar opposite of “Kabluey,” a sober, tough minded drama about a young man facing an almost insurmountable challenge. This is a British film, in the tradition of the kitchen sink dramas born in the aftermath of the second world war, when Britain was crawling back to normalcy and birthing a new generation. “Boy A” is a worthy successor to films like “This Sporting Life,” “A Taste of Honey,” and “Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,” (all available on disk.)
“Boy A” spent most of his youth in jail. The crime, of which he was an unwilling accomplice, is the worst kind. (In order to maintain the story’s integrity, I won’t reveal it here.) But the young man who’s released is an altogether different individual than the child who was put away. His tentative foray into the outside world is vivid, suspenseful and finally, unforgettable.
On paper this might seem like drudgery, or something we’ve seen too many times. Not in this case. Director John Crowley and screenwriter Mark O’Rowe, adapting a novel by Jonathon Trigell, deliver a harrowing movie experience.
Andrew Garfield, up to now a supporting player in television and movies, makes an indelible mark in the lead. Garfield was born in the USA, but educated in Britain. Watching this performance was like seeing Daniel Day Lewis reborn. He never seems to be reaching for effect; at all times he inhabits the character from the inside. The performance alone creates an unusual level of tension, but there’s able support from veterans Peter Mullan and Siobhan Finneran. Finneran, who I’ve never seen before, is especially effective as an adult woman with a thinking and feeling side.
“Boy A” won several BAFTAs (British academy awards) and a prize at the Berlin festival. It won’t make a dent here commercially, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it, in the theater or on disk.
Next time: Several also rans worth noting.
