Kabluey
Lisa Kudrow Shines as Soldier’s Frazzled Wife in Stop-Loss
Comedy
Kabluey
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, a crude reference and
brief profanity.
Running time: 87 minutes
Studio: Whitewater Films
Distributor: Regent Releasing
Film Review by
Kam Williams
Excellent (4 stars)
About once a month nowadays, another political drama is released
examining the toll being exacted by the war on military veterans
and their families. But virtually each of these well-meaning
morality plays, from Lions for Lambs to In The Valley of Elah to
Stop-Loss has been a heavy-handed, pacifist polemic which hits
you over the head with a way too obvious message.
That’s why the relatively-lighthearted Kabluey arrives like a
breath of fresh air. For this screwball comedy generates plenty
of laughter while simultaneously ever so subtly addressing
several sobering themes. The charming low-budget ensemble piece
is funny enough to be a surprise sleeper with enduring appeal,
ala My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Little Miss Sunshine of year’s
past.
The movie is a semi-autobiographical labor of love written and
directed by Scott Prendergrast whose own brother was backdoor
drafted into a tour of duty in the Middle East conflict. While
his sibling was serving overseas, Scott moved in with his
sister-in-law to help her care for her two young sons, a
challenging experience which provided both fodder and
inspiration for Kabluey.
Here, he co-stars opposite Friends’
Lisa Kudrow in her best
outing on the big screen since Analyze This. She exhibits her
trademark charm and perfect comic timing along with an endearing
emotional range in a role intermittently calling for a certain
gravitas. The talented cast also includes Terri Garr, Christine
Taylor (wife of Ben Stiller) and character actress Conchata
Ferrell.
The story revolves around emotionally and financially challenged
Leslie (Kudrow) who has stoically been trying to hold down the
fort since her husband Noah’s (Phil Thoden) National Guard unit
shipped out to Iraq. Between working full-time and raising their
two boys (Cameron Wofford and Landon Henninger) alone, the
frazzled mom barely has any downtime to relax, let alone worry
about Noah’s safety.
The sort of help she doesn't exactly need arrives when her
unemployed brother-in-law, Salman (Prendergrast), shows up in
Austin needing a place to crash, having recently been fired from
an entry-level position as a clerk at a copy store several
states away in Nevada. He proves to be so pathetic as a
babysitter, that Leslie orders him out of the house only to
relent when he says he’s broke and that his credit cards are
maxed out.
Instead, she finds him a job at her real estate company as its
corporate mascot, Kabluey. And much of the ensuing slapstick
emanates from his interacting with strangers while standing on
the street passing out flyers at the height of summer in a
heat-seeking baby blue outfit covering him from head to toe.
Meanwhile, there is a disarming darkness and depth to Leslie’s
character, whose evolution hints at the plausible plight of
countless similarly-situated Army wives in real life. A
worthwhile ’melan-comedy’ (a term coined by Prendergast) which
delivers a feminist statement merely by questioning the
conventional patriotic wisdom that all wars are fought for God,
mom and apple pie.
Related links
Lisa Kudrow
Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/lisa_kudrow.htm