Salmon (Scott Prendergast) lives a humble existence bouncing from one job to another with no stability, no friends, and no financial resources. When his sister-in-law, Leslie, (Lisa Kudrow) needs someone to watch her two rambunctious boys while she goes back to work, ill-equipped Salmon gets recruited for the job.
Salmon Living in His Brother’s Shadow
While Leslie’s military husband serves in Iraq, she does her best to maintain their modest house (filled with intimidating photographs of Salmon’s older brother) and control her out-of-control children. Salmon’s reluctant assistance is met with animosity and resistance by his depressed sister-in-law, who encourages him to move out anytime, and by her troubled children, who play cruel pranks on him and threaten to kill him. Used to receiving this kind of treatment from constantly living in the shadow of his bigger, braver, older brother, Salmon struggles to contribute something to the hurting family.
When he steadfastly stays to help, Leslie finds him a job as a corporate mascot named Kabluey for BlueNexion, a dying dot-com company where she works. Dressed in a ridiculous blue costume with a bulbous anonymous head, paunchy stomach, and no face or hands, Salmon gets dumped on the side of the road by his boss (a brassy Conchata Ferell) to distribute hot pink flyers advertising available space for rent in the nearly empty office building. While on the job, he gets booked as entertainment for a children’s party from a snobbish neighbor (Christine Taylor) and stalked by a crazy woman (Teri Garr) who lost her lifesavings from investing in BlueNexion.
Kabluey Emerges From the Shadows
The second half of Kabluey shows the many ways in which this lonely loser tries to help the family. He works to earn extra income, attempts to comfort his sister-in-law, and reaches out to make friends with his nephews. On his own, he is unsuccessful. Hidden inside the Kabluey costume, however, he feels freer to express his feelings.
Prendergast wrote, directed, and starred in this semi-autobiographical film, which showcases his comedic talents and allows Kudrow to display amazing acting depth and range unlike anything you saw on the television show Friends. Taylor, Ferell, and Garr appear briefly in quirky little roles that spice up the action. The fun story, interesting characters, outrageous humor, and sweet sentimentality add up to a winning combination. Be sure to stay for the credits.
- Kabluey
- Director: Scott Prendergast
- Run time: 87 minutes
- Rating: PG-13 (for some sexual material including a crude reference, and brief strong langauge)
