Recently hitting stores on DVD comes writer-director-star Scott Prendergast’s production of the bluest comedy you’ll ever see; partly because of the gloomy plot setup, but mainly due to the giant blue mascot running around throughout the film.
Leslie, played by Lisa Kudrow, most famous for her role as Phoebe in the television series Friends, is a distraught mother, raising two children while her husband is away at war. In desperate need to return to her work, Leslie calls upon her long lost screw up brother-in-law Salman (Scott Prendergast) to help out with the kids while she goes into the office. Unfortunately for Salman, her kids are a reckless bunch of trouble, doing more damage to the house and Salman’s emotional stability in one day than Problem Child could do in a week. However, Salman later fi nds amity with the children through a giant blue figured costume that he receives from a part time job called Kabluey.
Despite Prendergast’s impeccable comedic timing and ability spark erratic bursts of laughter throughout, Kabluey has its fair share of problems. The film’s long list of random, vastly unexplained characters creates a disjointed feel. The characters, including Leslie at times, fall flat, directing attention away from the inner conflict of loneliness that Leslie is facing and on to more slapstick elements of the piece. The comedic dominance, though quite entertaining at times, leaves the viewer feeling robbed of what was set up to be a very moving film — similar to the tone of Little Miss Sunshine — and with it, avoids the important topic of the stress of overseas relationships that is all too real in our world today.
If drama were a cake, then comedy would be the frosting. When the two work together, they complement each other, giving the consumer a satisfying treat. But when the cake is bland and the frosting is carrying all of the fl avor, you’ll never want to go back for seconds. Unless you’re really hungry, or feel like scraping off all the sweet stuff, you might want to leave this piece alone and try some pie instead.
