Rating of
2.5/4
Strange seafaring slapstick star vehicle.
Indyfreak - wrote on 06/14/19
Almost forgotten yet critically savaged on its original release, CABIN BOY is an experiment in Chris Elliot's surreal wacky sense of humor by way of Adam Resnick, a protegee of Tim Burton.
The set design and artifice of the effects have that same vibe. The movie wastes no time at a breezy 80 minutes and packs in a lot of gags and one-liners. Oddly for a comedy, it is ninety percent at the expense of its own leading man. They make no attempt to make him likable but the mean spirited darkly comic humor is better off for it.
It's unfortunate that his leading lady Melora Walters is very wooden. And even though it's clearly a part of the film's visual style, the sets and effects do not age well at all.
Still, it's hardly the shipwreck as it is often described.
