The Corndog Man (1999)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Andrew Shea

Writers:

Jim Holmes (writer)
Andrew Shea (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A foul-mouthed and bigoted boat salesman in rural South Carolina is targeted for ruthless and never-ending telephone terrorism by a mysterious man claiming to be his son... |

Plot Keywords:

Telephone Terror | Independent Film

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jim Holmes
Noble Willingham	...	Ace Barker

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Filming Locations:

Dorchester, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Corndog Productions

Let's not fight, I'm HAPPY today!!! (spoil free)

This film was thrust upon me by one of my more assertive friends, Pat. Pat's tastes and mine rarely mesh when it comes to movies, and when he put it in the vcr and insisted I see it, I wasn't too thrilled. But I must admit, I found it interesting. I knew nothing about it, so when I see this boat salesman resembling Boss Hogg answering the phone and hearing a goofily - voiced prank caller, I assumed it would be just one of several things that would be annoying and pointless. And at first, that is what I got. With every phone ring, and every chant of the man answering "Triple K Marine!" I was annoyed and confused. Is this the whole movie?

Well, as it turns out, yes. But then a cool thing happened. The phone calls, while at first irritating, start to get less so when you do realize that they're the cornerstone of the entire film. Why does this prankster keep calling the boat salesman, and how much is the poor sap willing to take? Thus the movie became slowly more engrossing, and little by very little, more important information is revealed. It turns out there is more to this telephone terrorist than we at first think, and every new bit of information is awkwardly digested by the poor old boat salesman as we watch and wait to see what happens and what choices must be made.

The ending is open to debate as to whether it made the whole slow buildup worth it, but I myself think it was. It's a good movie with a good (albeit maybe sad) ultimate message, even if it does take a long time to slowly unroll. But I must give credit to the script and the actors who perform it, because what could be a relentlessly maddening hour and a half of uninteresting phone conversations, is skillfully turned into an interesting and funny (and finally dramatic) story of two lives intersecting for a very legitamite reason. It's worth watching, if not just to hear the goofy phone calls (one of which features my favorite line, quoted at the top) and the even goofier reactions of the beleagered boat guy. Unique fun and drama, and an interesting surprise.