Haiku Tunnel (2001)

Josh has an offer to "go perm" at his employer and the first task is to mail 17 high priority letters....something that seems a little difficult to do.

Directors:

Jacob Kornbluth, Josh Kornbluth

Writers:

Josh Kornbluth, Jacob Kornbluth

Stars:

Josh Kornbluth, Warren Keith, Sarah Overman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Kornbluth	...	Josh Kornbluth
Warren Keith	...	Bob 'Bob' Shelby
Sarah Overman	...	Julie Faustino
Leah Alperin	...	Temp #1
Jacob Kornbluth	...	Temp #2
Stephen Muller	...	Temp #3
Linda Norton	...	Temp #4
Helen Shumaker	...	Marlina D'Amore
Amy Resnick	...	Mindy
Brian Thorstenson	...	Clifford
June Carryl	...	DaVonne (as June Lomena)
Joanne Evangelista	...	Caryl
Jennifer Laske	...	Helen the Ex-Girlfriend
Patricia Scanlon	...	Helen the Ex-Secretary
Joe Bellan	...	Jimmy the Mail Clerk

Storyline

Haiku Tunnel is a frenetic office comedy about a neurotic male secretary who is a terrific temp but a horrible perm. When his new boss (a tax attorney who just may be Satan) gives him 17 very important letters to mail out, he doesn't, and the ensuing complications bring him face-to-face with a lifetime of personal demons.

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Plot Keywords:

boss | secretary | office | corporate world | based on monologue | 

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Taglines:

An office comedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

I'm Just a Secretary

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,386, 16 September 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$251,058, 30 December 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

B9 Films,Hello Hooker Productions,Mike's Movies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director's lack of frog anatomy knowledge resulted in the eyeglasses for the frog eventually being jury-rigged with a paper clip and rubber band.

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Goofs

When going through the instructions left for Helen, Joshua says it is "Eleven and a half single-spaced pages", but the document is double-spaced.

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Quotes

Bob 'Bob' Shelby: Go back to your desk. Settle down. Focus. And catch up.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits we hear a voiceover of Bob Shelby's dictating a letter

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Alternate Versions

DVD includes outtakes and six deleted scenes:

• Medieval Marlina: a 'secretarial simulation' showing Marlina dressed in medieval garb;
• Neurotic Adventurer: on his way to the Pine building, Josh has a flashback of himself in college;
• Apology: more footage of Josh trying to convinge the guard to let him enter the Pine building;
• Politeness: Josh complains about Bob Shelby's constant politeness;
• Fatelets: Josh delivers a monologue while having sex with Julia;
• Coda: epilogue showing Josh bicycling up on a mountain. He meets Darlene, and they ride away together on her motorcycle.

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Connections

Features Have You Got Any Castles? (1938)

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Soundtracks

L'oiseau de feu
(The Firebird)
Igor Stravinsky

User Reviews

two definitions of mugging

There's bug-eyed mugging, as in what Josh Kornbluth does a little too much in this film. And then there's the brutal mugging that this film is receiving here in IMDB comments. Ouch.

Much of the latter seems to stem around some resentment regarding this film and "Office Space." I've not seen the latter yet, but it seems to me "Haiku Tunnel" is a total ripoff of "Magnolia."

Kidding...kidding. That's my own little inside joke.

As for the jokes in here, I guess they might be somewhat inside. But I think if you've ever felt a bit like a stow-away on a job, you could connect with some of the alienation that Josh pokes fun at. All of the other characters here really are just foils for Josh, that might bug some folks.

Generally I found the amateurish charm to work here. I love "catalog" humor, and we get some of that early on in regards to types of fellow temps and types of lawyers. Quick flicks through stereotypes work for me usually. The film does slow down (as almost all comedies do) towards the end, when the plot piper must be paid.

Along those lines, in a bad horror film, I often will want to yell at the screen "Call the cops...NOW!" During this film, you will likely reach a point, as my wife and I did, where you will want to scream, "Mail the damned letters...NOW!" But we both did laugh throughout this. She especially loved the scene where Josh's boss won't let him quit, especially during Josh's litany of reasons that he is a bad seed.

But why do so many people, so strongly dislike this film?

If I squint my memory, I can sort of reimagine Kornbluth as Garfield (the cat, not the president). Maybe that is why some folks find him so patently unfunny. Just thinking about a punchline involving "Lasagna" and that comic strip sets my blood to boiling. Could that be it?

Or maybe some of the smirks that Kornbluth lobs towards the camera have the effect on others that a laugh track has on me. This does have a bit of a sitcom feel, but at least it isn't dragged out over 100 episodes. And there are some unique idiosyncratic moments here.

Or perhaps some folks need to be able to identify with the main character in a comedy, and Josh comes across with a little too much self-confidence and well, a little too much self. It's okay for Bill Murray to have too much of the former, just like it's okay for Chris Farley to have too much of the latter. But put them in one body, and look out?

I don't know what it is. But evidently half of you out there really shouldn't see this film. Not even on cable, late at night. I decided to watch this after seeing the trailer along time ago, so maybe look at that first? Or cross-check my other reviews...I recommend this one with a

7/10

PS You can fault Kornbluth's sense of humor, but certainly not his taste in music! Great songs through-out.