-By Eric Monder
For movie details, please click here.
Craig Carlisle’s first indie feature,
Bob Funk, harkens back
to the kind of movie more popular in the 1970s mainstream—aimless,
oddball, and filled with great character actors. Though it never
fully comes alive, Bob Funk possesses a quiet charm.
In Carlisle’s story, based on his play
Bob Funk in Therapy,
Bob Funk (Michael Leydon Campbell) has been living up (or is it
down?) to his name. He has just been through a rocky divorce and is
now drinking excessively and goofing off on the job—as the
assistant to his own mother (Grace Zabriskie) at the Funk Foam and
Futon Company.
Enter Miss Thorne (Rachael Leigh Cook), a beautiful but klutzy new
executive at the firm. Bob tries aggressively to win her over,
which causes his mother to fire him for sexual harassment. In order
to rejoin the company (as a janitor!), Bob is forced to see a
psychiatrist, report to his new boss (Miss Horne), and stop
drinking. Will Bob make it and get out of his funk or go completely
“under the volcano”?
Remember
Who Is Harry Kellerman and
Why Is He Saying
Those Terrible Things About Me? or any ’70s film where the
leading character ends up on a psychiatrist’s couch? For the most
part, that is the kind of movie Bob Funk emulates. Aside from this
plot device, Craig Carlisle’s film also boasts a flaky tone and
pleasant spirit (more so than the recent
Choke, which follows another unpleasant protagonist
through a seriocomic adventure).
Had Carlisle found a more dynamic and charismatic leading man than
Campbell,
Bob Funk would have been much more arresting—which
is too bad, because all the other casting is perfect. Zabriskie,
currently seen on HBO’s “Big Love,” nearly steals the show as
Funk’s domineering boss-mom. Amy Ryan (
Gone Baby Gone, “The Office”) shows a zesty side as a
sharp-tongued barfly. Terri Mann is likeable as Bob’s therapist.
And best of all, Cook shines as the clumsy but bright (and
not ditzy) heroine. A throwback to the underrated Paula
Prentiss, Cook exhibits real star quality.
The production credits are above average and the score includes a
nice use of Duke Ellington standards. Bob Funk might just lift you
out of a funk.
Film Review: Bob Funk
A solid cast helps this quirky little comedy of existential angst.
March 20, 2009
-By Eric Monder
For movie details, please click here.
Craig Carlisle’s first indie feature,
Bob Funk, harkens back to the kind of movie more popular in the 1970s mainstream—aimless, oddball, and filled with great character actors. Though it never fully comes alive, Bob Funk possesses a quiet charm.
In Carlisle’s story, based on his play
Bob Funk in Therapy, Bob Funk (Michael Leydon Campbell) has been living up (or is it down?) to his name. He has just been through a rocky divorce and is now drinking excessively and goofing off on the job—as the assistant to his own mother (Grace Zabriskie) at the Funk Foam and Futon Company.
Enter Miss Thorne (Rachael Leigh Cook), a beautiful but klutzy new executive at the firm. Bob tries aggressively to win her over, which causes his mother to fire him for sexual harassment. In order to rejoin the company (as a janitor!), Bob is forced to see a psychiatrist, report to his new boss (Miss Horne), and stop drinking. Will Bob make it and get out of his funk or go completely “under the volcano”?
Remember
Who Is Harry Kellerman and
Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? or any ’70s film where the leading character ends up on a psychiatrist’s couch? For the most part, that is the kind of movie Bob Funk emulates. Aside from this plot device, Craig Carlisle’s film also boasts a flaky tone and pleasant spirit (more so than the recent
Choke, which follows another unpleasant protagonist through a seriocomic adventure).
Had Carlisle found a more dynamic and charismatic leading man than Campbell,
Bob Funk would have been much more arresting—which is too bad, because all the other casting is perfect. Zabriskie, currently seen on HBO’s “Big Love,” nearly steals the show as Funk’s domineering boss-mom. Amy Ryan (
Gone Baby Gone, “The Office”) shows a zesty side as a sharp-tongued barfly. Terri Mann is likeable as Bob’s therapist. And best of all, Cook shines as the clumsy but bright (and
not ditzy) heroine. A throwback to the underrated Paula Prentiss, Cook exhibits real star quality.
The production credits are above average and the score includes a nice use of Duke Ellington standards. Bob Funk might just lift you out of a funk.
