Work is one of the ripest subjects for parody, being that one absolute necessity in life loved by few and hated by many. Following in the steps of such popular office humor as "Dilbert" and "Office Space", "Haiku Tunnel" comes off as a fairly enjoyable work-place comedy, though its adaptation from a monologue is obviously in need of some fine tuning.
"Haiku Tunnel" teaches that being a temp worker (in this case, a temp male secretary) can be the greatest and worst experience at the same time (greatest because one can live fairly freely, the worst because that freedom's cost is being, for all purposes, invisible), and that switching to permanent status can take much getting used to. This theme of the perils of going perm for the first time is naturally the focal point of most of the film's humor the new deadlines, responsibilities and relationships with some too-perky coworkers. Josh Kornbluth (who also directed, and co-wrote, adapting the script from his own comedic monologue), does a good job at playing himself a big dork who wants to be a novelist and just can't stand any sort of commitment (though really, how could he fail at playing himself?). The coworkers are great about not being too annoying (the usual problem with ultra-perky characters), but the boss' character is confusing Josh claims that he is the Devil, but he's obviously not, begging the question of this being the fault of the actor, character, or if Josh is just wrong and has no idea what to expect of a real boss (for thematic purposes I'll go with the latter).
Along the way, there are a few snags, mainly resulting from the fact that this was derived from a monologue. In monologues, especially comedic ones, it is rather common to have a break from the story where the narrator explains the background of a situation or character, since that may not be apparent from the dialogue alone. That works fine on a stage performance, but when kept in a film adaptation, it disrupts the flow of the movie, particularly since none of these `explanations' (barring the one in the beginning) are particularly relevant for understanding what's occurring in the next scene. Another problem with the plot is that Josh isn't really a lovable dork; he's just a dork, and as one that chooses to end his relationships only to lament over their ending, comes off a bit like a jerk as well. Though a "straight" dork/jerk can be an engrossing and entertaining character who eventually gains an audience's affections (the best example of this being "High Fidelity"), it can just as easily be a character the audience is indifferent to, which is the case in "Haiku Tunnel" (and given that said dork is the main character, this is a fairly bad thing).
"Haiku Tunnel" is funny at parts, but at other parts rather uninteresting. It's certainly not a bad movie, but with a little fine-tuning around the monologue and a reason to really care for the main character, it could've been a really great one.
"Haiku Tunnel" teaches that being a temp worker (in this case, a temp male secretary) can be the greatest and worst experience at the same time (greatest because one can live fairly freely, the worst because that freedom's cost is being, for all purposes, invisible), and that switching to permanent status can take much getting used to. This theme of the perils of going perm for the first time is naturally the focal point of most of the film's humor the new deadlines, responsibilities and relationships with some too-perky coworkers. Josh Kornbluth (who also directed, and co-wrote, adapting the script from his own comedic monologue), does a good job at playing himself a big dork who wants to be a novelist and just can't stand any sort of commitment (though really, how could he fail at playing himself?). The coworkers are great about not being too annoying (the usual problem with ultra-perky characters), but the boss' character is confusing Josh claims that he is the Devil, but he's obviously not, begging the question of this being the fault of the actor, character, or if Josh is just wrong and has no idea what to expect of a real boss (for thematic purposes I'll go with the latter).
Along the way, there are a few snags, mainly resulting from the fact that this was derived from a monologue. In monologues, especially comedic ones, it is rather common to have a break from the story where the narrator explains the background of a situation or character, since that may not be apparent from the dialogue alone. That works fine on a stage performance, but when kept in a film adaptation, it disrupts the flow of the movie, particularly since none of these `explanations' (barring the one in the beginning) are particularly relevant for understanding what's occurring in the next scene. Another problem with the plot is that Josh isn't really a lovable dork; he's just a dork, and as one that chooses to end his relationships only to lament over their ending, comes off a bit like a jerk as well. Though a "straight" dork/jerk can be an engrossing and entertaining character who eventually gains an audience's affections (the best example of this being "High Fidelity"), it can just as easily be a character the audience is indifferent to, which is the case in "Haiku Tunnel" (and given that said dork is the main character, this is a fairly bad thing).
"Haiku Tunnel" is funny at parts, but at other parts rather uninteresting. It's certainly not a bad movie, but with a little fine-tuning around the monologue and a reason to really care for the main character, it could've been a really great one.