Review of Kabluey (2007) by Pi-I Debby L — 22 Oct 2008

Overwhelmed with domestic duties and depression while her husband is away in Iraq, Leslie (Lisa Kudrow) looks to her loser brother-in-law Salman (Scott Prendergast) for help. Moving in with Leslie and her demonic children, Salman is immediately in over his head, which prompts Leslie to secure a job for him as a mascot for a failing dot-com company to help with the bills.

Stuck in an oversized, blue felt suit on a desert highway, Salman is allowed a rare moment of introspection, while learning the suit has strange confessional powers over strangers. Empowered by his alter-ego, Salman attempts to heal Leslie's emotional wounds.

Kabluey, is a black comedy. Everyone's so miserable but their circumstances are invariably absurd. Prendergast's direction is pitch-perfect and whimsical without slipping on acts of sarcasm, lending the film an endearing personality and lasting comic effect.

Struggling to squeeze his way into and out of his character's mascot outfit, Prendergast is perpetually evoking a birthing ritual, but beyond the coup of his Tatiesque performance is his vision of the corporate swallowing the personal whole.