WHO’S THE CABOOSE?
New Video / 1997 / 94 mins / NR

THE FILM:
WHO’S THE CABOOSE is an interesting document for fans of stand-up comedians. It is jam packed with New York and L.A. entertainers at the beginnings of their careers who would go on to much greater fame in the decade following. Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Andy Dick and Kathy Griffin are some of the names who pop up here in roles ranging from leads to cameos. Many had already discovered the personas they would nurture and eventually hit it big with (David Cross and Andy Dick had already nailed their respective characters) while others were still works in progress (Sarah Silverman hadn’t quite attained the acidic quality that would propel her to stardom). 

WHO’S THE CABOOSE is a mostly improvised mockumentary about a young comedian (Silverman) who goes to Los Angeles in hopes of landing a role in a television series during pilot season. Along the way we meet a wide variety of eccentric characters that have had varying degrees of success in Hollywood from vain actors to sleazy agents.

Writer/Director/Actor Sam Seder’s film garnered critical praise upon its release but WHO’S THE CABOOSE was a difficult film to see, playing mostly film festivals. He and most of the cast would revisit their characters seven years later in the television mini-series “Pilot Season.”

I called this film an interesting document mostly because time hasn’t been too terribly kind to it. The television industry has changed so dramatically since the film was shot that it almost feels like a period piece. The characters are funny and charming and the situations they find themselves in are very grounded in reality but since webcasts and reality TV have taken off, the film feels like what it is (a group of comedians skewering the television industry) rather than what it is trying to be (a mockumentary). The 2005 George Clooney/Steven Soderbergh produced HBO series “Unscripted” would mine this territory again to greater effect.

THE DISC:
The non-anamorphic full screen presentation and mono sound is fine. The film was made to look cheap and the very grainy, no-budget documentary feel is properly presented.

THE EXTRAS:
Not a single thing.

MY SAY:
Die hard fans of Silverman, Dick, Cross and company will find this interesting seeing their heroes at the beginning of their careers but for the rest of us this is only mildly entertaining.