Rating: 
Summary: A "Temp" Setback for Comedy
Review: Office work, especially in this era of computers, multi-functional copy machines, e-mail, voice mail, snail mail and "temps," is territory ripe with satirical possibilities, a vein previously tapped in such films as "Clockwatchers" and "Office Space," and very successfully. This latest addition to the temp/humor pool, however, "Haiku Tunnel," directed by Josh Kornbluth and Jacob Kornbluth, fails to live up to it's predecessors, and leaves the laughs somewhere outside the door, waiting for a chance to sneak in. Unfortunately for the audience, that chance never comes; so what you get is a nice try, but as the man once said, no cigar. As the narrator/star of the film, Josh Kornbluth (playing Josh Kornbluth), points out in the opening frames (in a monologue delivered directly into the camera), this story is pure fiction, and takes place in the fictional city of "San Franc'l'isco." It's an innovative, if not very imaginatively presented disclaimer, and not all that funny. It is, however, a harbinger of what is to follow, all of which-- like the disclaimer-- just isn't all that funny. Kornbluth plays Kornbluth, an aspiring novelist who supports himself working as a "temp." It's a job that suits him, and it gives him time to slip in some work on his novel from time to time. But when he goes to work for a lawyer, Bob Shelby (Warren Keith), he does too good a job on the first day, and Shelby dispatches head secretary Marlina D'Amore (Helen Shumaker) to Kornbluth to persuade him to go "perm." The thought of working full time for the same company, though, initially strikes fear in the heart of Kornbluth, but he caves in and signs on for the position. He's nervous about it, but at least now the other secretaries acknowledge his presence (which, of course, they would never do with a temp), and if things get too rough, he has seventeen important letters he's typed up-- that now just have to be mailed out-- to fall back on (he's been holding them back because the mailing is the easy part, and he needs that "something easy to do" in reserve, in case it all gets to be too much for him). These are "important" letters, however, and by the end of the week, Kornbluth still has them in reserve, on his desk. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when Shelby finds out about it, Kornbluth's days as the fair-haired boy are going to be over. And quick. The Brothers Kornbluth, who not only directed, but along with John Bellucci also wrote the screenplay for this film, should have taken a page out of the Ben Stiller Book of Comedy, where it says "If you play it straight, they will laugh." But, they didn't, and the audience won't. Because in comedy, even looking at it as objectively as possible, when the main character (as well as most of the supporting characters, in this case) "Plays" funny-- as in, he "knows" he's being funny-- he never is. And that's exactly what Kornbluth does here; so rather than being "funny," he comes across as insincere and pretentious, a grievous error in judgment on the part of the Kornbluths, because by allowing it, they sabotaged their own movie. In trying to discern exactly why this movie doesn't work, it comes down to two basic reasons: The directing, which-- if not necessarily "bad"-- is at least careless; and secondly, the performances, beginning with that of Josh Kornbluth. Quite simply, Kornbluth just seems too impressed with himself to be effective here. Unlike Stiller, or even Steve Martin-- both of whom use self-deprecating humor very effectively-- Kornbluth apparently has an ego that simply will not allow putting himself in that light; he seems to have a need to let his audience know that he, the real Kornbluth, is in reality much more clever than Kornbluth the character. And being unable to get past that does him in, as well as the film. Rather than give the millions of office workers who may see this film someone to whom they can relate or with whom they can identify, Kornbluth affects a condescending manner that only serves to alienate the very people he is attempting to reach. So what it all comes down to is a case of poor directing and unconvincing acting, and when you take into consideration that the screenplay itself was weak to begin with, with an inexplicably narrow focus (given the potential of the rich subject matter), it's easy to understand why this one just doesn't fly. The one saving grace of the film is the performance by Warren Keith as Shelby, whose subtle delivery is convincing, and which-- in and of itself-- is fairly humorous. The effectiveness of it is diminished, however, inasmuch as Keith has to share his scenes with Kornbluth, which somewhat automatically cancels out his positive contributions to the project. Shumaker and Sarah Overman (Julie Faustino) also manage to keep their heads above water with their respective performances, which are commendable, if not entirely memorable; they at least make their scenes watchable, and Overman even manages to elevate Kornbluth's performance, if only momentarily. But it's still not enough to save the day or the film. The supporting cast includes Amy Resnick (Mindy), Brian Thorstenson (Clifford), June Lomena (DaVonne), Joe Bellan (Jimmy the Mail Clerk), with a cameo appearance by a disheveled looking Harry Shearer, as the Orientation Leader-- a role that begs for an answer to the question, "What was he thinking when he agreed to this?" In any work environment, there will forever be situations arising that one way or another will unavoidably become fodder for someone's comedic cannon, and the films depicting said situations will always be with us; the good ones (see paragraph one) may even become classics in their own right. "Haiku Tunnel," however, will doubtfully remain very long amongst them, for it's destiny lies elsewhere-- in a realm known only as: "Obscurity."
Rating: 
Summary: Amusing
Review: The latter part of the 1990s, when more people than ever before toiled away in the corporate world thanks to a massive increase in dot.com jobs, saw the emergence of a particularly funny film called "Office Space." This movie dealt with the trials and tribulations of a young computer programmer as he attempted to navigate his way through the nerve racking atmosphere created by condescending bosses, cubicles, and weird co-workers. The film has since assumed the venerated moniker of "cult classic," and rightfully so. Anyone who has served time in the corporate world instantly recognizes the annoying day to day events depicted in the film: the banal paperwork, the hierarchy of bosses, boredom, the perky office worker, consultants...the list could go on and on. "Haiku Tunnel," while not achieving anything close to the magic of "Office Space," covers much of the same territory. Instead of taking place in an IT firm, this film follows the exploits of a temporary worker whose world is suddenly turned upside down when a law firm offers him full-time employment. The title of the film comes from an architectural project the main character worked on during one of his temp assignments.
Josh Kornbluth (played by Josh Kornbluth) is a wannabe author living in San Francisco who must work in between bouts of writing. He's a great temp employee, one of the best in fact, because the job allows him to move around the city without the long-term stress attendant to a regular job. All of that changes, however, when he shows up for an assignment at Schuyler & Mitchell (S&M), a big shot law firm filled with a host of corny characters. For one thing, all of the attorneys have the name Bob, including Josh's newest boss Bob Shelby (Warren Keith). His co-workers are a bit odd too. You've got the evil office manager Marlina D'Amore (Helen Shumaker), and a trio of annoying co-workers that won't have anything to do with Josh until they learn the company took him on full-time. Right from the start Kornbluth runs into trouble. The entire process of assuming responsibility saps his strength as an office employee. He finds himself working on his book at work, avoiding conflicts, and showing up late for the first time in ages. The real problems start with seventeen simple but very important letters that Shelby claims must go out in the mail immediately. For some reason, Josh cannot get them done. Days go by and the letters still sit on his desk like clouds of impending doom.
The majority of the film centers on Josh's various efforts to find motivation to get these letters out. He does everything except mail the letters: his book distracts him, a relationship that springs up suddenly causes him to forget about the correspondence, and his neverending neurosis about everything from his bed to his former girlfriend constantly conspire to bring him down. As Josh anguishes about the letters, he learns much about his new corporate surroundings. He spends a day in orientation learning the ins and outs of such metaphysically important tasks such as how to clear jammed paper out of a copier (look for Harry Shearer in the role as the monotone instructor). In order to explain this alien world and his actions within it, the film occasionally cuts away to Josh standing in front of chalkboard for an "actor to audience" explanation of what's really going on. As for Kornbluth himself, he looks like...well, he's hard to describe. He's a pudgy, balding, loud guy with glasses that is about as far from a corporate type as you could imagine. In many ways, it is his appearance and how he conducts himself that makes "Haiku Tunnel" quite amusing.
Unfortunately, not everything inspires laugh out loud laughter. Actually, I don't remember laughing out loud once during the entire movie, although I did find "Haiku Tunnel" entertaining and rather clever in spots. I think the performances are the best thing in the movie. Kornbluth's acceptable, but Helen Shumaker as the icy cold Marlina steals every scene she's in. The actress is quite beautiful in her way and has a wonderful head of hair, both of which she uses to great effect as she looms ominously over Josh's new life. The scene where he leaves a lengthy message on her answering machine, and her reaction to the same the next day, is worth seeing and something more of us should probably do to an irritating co-worker. As for the boss, everyone in the film talks about Bob Shelby as though he is Satan's son, but he actually comes off as a sort of absentminded, incompetent stooge. Josh's three co-workers tend to take things a bit overboard. DaVonne (June Lomena), a black gal with a lot of attitude, stands out of the bunch. Josh has a thing for her, and it's funny to watch her spurn his puppy dog advances. What I didn't like as much was Kornbluth's constant self-analysis and endless hamming. Throttling back on the Woody Allen shtick might have helped the film. The asides where Josh lectures the audience obviously comes from his background as a stage artist, and regrettably don't fit well in the movie.
For a low budget film, the "Haiku Tunnel" DVD contains quite a few extras. You get several deleted scenes, a commentary track from Kornbluth, outtakes, and trailers for this film, "Jackpot," and "The Tao of Steve," which stars that annoying Scottish comedian Donal Logue. While Kornbluth's intensely personal film isn't as good as the awesome "Office Space," it is worth watching. I would watch it again, in fact. This is the sort of film you absolutely much see if your corporate job is becoming too much to bear. It will probably make you feel slightly better to know there are many fellow sufferers.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully understated humor
Review: This is a wonderful movie. If you need fast action or obvious humor stop right here. Otherwise, strap in and follow closely the subtle, quirky humor of Josh Kornbluth as he paints a funny picture of anxiety/depression through his life as a "temp" on his way to becoming a "perm."
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: This is an awful movie. It is so bad, that I felt bad for the guy who wrote it and starred in it. I had to turn it off after 25 minutes. If you are thinking about buying this movie, I have a suggestion. Take the [money], and light it on fire. Watching it burn will be more fun, and a better use of your money.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe I Was The Uni In Uniforce
Review: This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I can think of few movies that have made me laugh out loud more while watching. I contemplated renting this movie many times but always held back because of the mixed reviews. One day I finally broke down and rented it and was very glad I did. Maybe it hits home for me because I also worked for a temp agency before "going perm." And I do have this burning sense of creativity inside of me that sometimes takes priority over my work, just as the character of Josh places more importance on working on his novel than mailing out 17 "very important" letters for his boss. And yes, I do have a co-worker that is as flamboyant as the character of Clifford. But I don't think either of these qualities make it necessary to enjoy this film. Anybody with a slightly quirky or odd sense of humor should definitely enjoy this one. After renting this one it did not take me long to go out and buy it. Since then, I have actually found it gets funnier with repeated viewings, as you may catch things you missed before due to laughing.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Movie I've Ever Seen
Review: This is without question the worst movie I've ever seen. I've never written a review for Amazon before, and may never again, but I so hated this terrible, excruciating drivel that I felt obligated to warn you as a public service. I saw this movie more than two years ago and it still enrages me by how bad it is. Josh Kornbluth, who apparently plays himself in a completely unendearing manner, should never make another movie. I cannot express with mere words how bad this film is. Please, don't have anything to do with this movie and you will hopefully live a long, happy life unhaunted by this unfunny, irritating loser.
Rating:
Summary: Boring...Toneless...Just Not Good
Review: This movie is 90 minutes long. I laughed (half-heartedly) twice. Or once every forty-five minutes. The whole thing is very pseudo-Woody Allen (Therapist jokes? In 2002?) only set in S.F. rather than N.Y. There's really very little insight of any kind in this movie. Rent Office Space for a better skewering of today's work environment. The only thing the movie has going for it is the Pixie's song Debaser. Avoid this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The funniest movie I've seen in two years
Review: This movie is hilarious. Unfortunately it is in limited release in the theaters so may be hard to see. It has special significance if you have ever worked as a temp office worker. This movie is well worth seeing. Bring someone you like to laugh with.
Rating:
Summary: Very Funny!
Review: This movie is the funniest Office movie since "Office Space". The humor is dark and right on target. There are so many small details that I had to watch it a second time. Perfect for those of us who are Just a Secretary. So Settle Down, Play the Video, Focus, and Catch up on your laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Haiku Tunnel is TORTURE to watch not COMEDY
Review: This movie ranks up there with Ishtar and Mr. Saturday Night as "comedies" that I will never watch again. If it came down to watching this movie again or jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, I'd take suicide. If you can go 20 minutes without looking at your watch then congrats. It did have a good soundtrack though but that doesn't make up for psuedo-comedy. It's worse than the skits currently on Saturday Night Live. I think it is funny how this movie has Sundance creds printed on the box. Everyone at Sundance must of been high that day because this movie is horrid. Who greenlighted this bad film? They should be fired.
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