Outfitted with a formidable comic cast and boasting a grimy handheld mockumentary aesthetic that feels very ingrained in our current celebrity-obsessed culture, Who’s The Caboose was simply a decade too early. Released in 1997, the film lingered on shelves as nothing more than an ephemeral curio, starring a cast of up-and-comers no one has heard of. Now the film can be dug out of obscurity and repackaged with Sarah Silverman front and center and a list of comedians, some niche, others more mainstream adorning the front cover. While the film itself feels like a two-hour improvisational exercise loosely anchored by a plot, the cast mines some gold from their low-budget surroundings. The only issue is the presentation, as seemingly nothing was done to clean up the image and audio, which is below passing to say the least.
As masterminded by director and star Sam Seder and his co-writer Charles Fisher, Who’s The Caboose is the purported account of a documentary crew that gets sidetracked, stealing away with a $25,000 fund to film Susan (Silverman) as she moves from NY to La in order to run the gamut known as pilot season, with boyfriend Max (Seder) along for the ride and none too happy. Susan and Max immediately come off as a couple everyone knows have no business being together but no one seems to have the balls to tell them. Their interactions are strained and awkward, and Max actively relates his dismay about the fakery that haunts Hollywood while Susan strives to get a leg up as an actress and a comedian.
Her agent Jason (Andy Dick) doesn’t really know what to do with her and Susan alternates between living in a cramped and trashy “free-expression” apartment and attending auditions where its clear her intelligence will not play in her favor while her looks are deemed “ethnic” at best. There’s a genuine caustic energy to Caboose, exemplified by a brief appearance from the always-welcome David Cross, playing a nameless (former?) actor who spits nasty vitriol while working a menial day job.
It’s a film devised by a hungry cast and crew, whose cynicism and intelligent outlook doesn’t seem to mesh with the overblown absurdity common to Hollywood. The handheld approach is most likely done out of necessity but also feels a bit forward thinking given the way the cast approaches humor in general. When Max is cornered by agent Ken Fold (H. Jon Benjamin, voice of Sterling Archer, delivering a surprisingly complex performance), his star is on the rise and the industry once thought lacking in morality and creativity is accessible and appealing.
Max’s relationship with Ken makes for some of the best parts of the film and Benjamin is both ingratiating and irritating as an agent who for reasons unbeknownst to us, takes a liking to Max without having seen any of his material. The contrast Caboose finds between Max’s ascent and Susan’s rut in endless audition land is food for thought. With all this baggage though, it would be wise not to neglect the funny – here delivered in short, underhanded spurts. We are often left watching a situation played out with a punch line nestled all the way at the end.
The subtle comedy calls to mind a gentler Curb Your Enthusiasm but the film as a whole feels like a lesser precursor to Party Down, the much-beloved, little-seen show following a catering company made up of struggling actors. In Who’s The Caboose, fame comes and goes on a daily basis but no one seems to realize how silly it all ultimately is – if you’re tough enough to come in with a set of principles, sticking them to them will prove a test of character to say the least. Prescient after fourteen years, this is a very decent way to spend your time, but does not demand much in terms of replay value.
DVD Bonus Features
Absolutely nada, which is a shame – a commentary or a look back from the cast would have been a prized extra. There’s no subtitles as well and when the sound is occasionally poor, you’re on your own.
"Who's the Caboose?" is on sale March 29, 2011 and is not rated. Indie. Directed by Sam Seder. Written by Sam Seder, Charles Fisher. Starring Andy Dick, David Cross, H Jon Benjamin, Sarah Silverman.
