Who's the Caboose? (1997)
A documentary team gets a grant to do a film on a rare fatal disease that is attacking homeless people. However, they quickly find the film too depressing. Ducking into a nightclub, they discover a young Manhattan comedienne and decide instead to follow her as she makes the circuit of auditions in L.A. as she tries to get a TV pilot. Unfortunately, she has failed to tell her boyfriend of this move. He decides he will trail her out west. There, the boyfriend runs into an old friend who has already made a break on a TV pilot. Seizing the opportunity, the actress turns her attentions to the established actor. However, the actress goes nowhere in auditions, but her ex-boyfriend is suddenly noticed and becomes the next hot prospect.
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'Who's the Caboose?' is a daringly unvarnished look at the shark- infested waters of Hollywood's double-talk and ruthlessly superficial professional relationships formed during "Pilot Season," and the desperation boiling beneath the surface of the scene. I appreciate that the mockumentary format serves the authenticity of the story but it's realism is earned at a great sacrifice; the film is not engaging, it successfully delivers a very authentic feeling story but the intentional blandness of 'real-life' negates any possible emotion we might be feeling for the characters. The movie explores the uphill battle of actors breaking from underground comedy clubs to mainstream sitcom success but what struck me the most was how many fantastic comedians are criminally underutilized in their comedic capacity. Naturally mischievous Sarah Silverman portraying an irritable and neurotic bore, ludicrously funny David Cross barely gets a peek of screen time and H. John Benjamin whose wry voice you have heard in so many great cartoons playing an officious, effervescent lawyer. It's an arm-wrestle between miscast roles and an aggressively dry script.It's okay, but if you sort-of liked what you saw, I recommend watching the far superior 'Swingers' which came out a year prior, similar fare but done with greater style and a more engaging emotional core.
I caught this feature film mockumentary about a female comedian (Sarah Silverman) moving to New York from LA for pilot season on TRIO, along with its TV series. David Cross, Kathy Griffin, and Andy Dick all make appearances, and it is pretty funny. Not as funny, however, as "Pilot Season", a spin-off of WHO'S THE CABOOSE?, with most of the same people, and guest appearances by Matt Besser of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and Isla Fisher of WEDDING CRASHERS. I am loathe to say that the most fascinating part of the film was being reminded of what Kathy Griffin looked like pre-plastic surgery, but it was. After that, though, I was impressed by the knowledge that Sarah Silverman would have a great movie career if only everyone stopped casting her as the bitch (her character name in WAY OF THE GUN is actually "Raving Bitch"), a fact that is a joke on "Pilot Season".
A coworker let me borrow a tape of this unreleased gem. I'm not even a big fan of "mockumentary". But this really works. The performances are just right, not overplayed. The writing or the improvisation is very nicely done, it feels real without being too campy. David Cross has two riotous cameos. It even works dramatically.It seems like an obvious subject -- actors flying out to L.A. for pilot season -- but I've seen a lot of actor friends make that pilgrimage and I haven't seen too many shows that really deal with it. (Well, except "The It Factor".)If you can find this somewhere, watch it.
Killer film. Great script. A must see.Way to go Sam!