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Cabin Boy (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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80 comments in total

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20 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
The Greatest Movie Ever Made by Humans, 30 June 2004

Author: leechfoot from San Francisco

The fish stick kitten scene made me laugh so hard I missed most of the rest of the movie, but I'm sure it was also great. I don't think this movie will ever get the recognition it deserves. Mostly because Chris Elliot is kind of unpleasant. Not to me. Well, okay yes to me. He is unpleasant to me, but in a good way. People should just lighten up and realize that this movie is brilliant. Come on. True I do like this movie a lot because of scenes that are actually in Get A Life, Chris Elliot's TV show. And that's not really fair. But that episode where Martin Mull comes over and they go to that brothel while they play "Afternoon Delight?" That was so funny that it kind of bleeds over into Cabin Boy and makes that funny too.

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20 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
misunderstood comedy is a true masterpiece, 2 May 2005

Author: moore9157 from United States

what can be said of cabin boy's idiotic genius? Chris Elliot proves he is the master of absurd comedy in this one of a kind, off the wall masterpiece! I'm almost ashamed to love it so dearly. The movie propels itself through a bizarre mythological backdrop using Elliots uncanny knack for brilliant, stupid, amazingly funny dialog and antics. Cabin boy stays true to all that is Elliot from beginning to end. It doesn't change its mind halfway through, and is too unassuming to attempt to deliver any heartwarming morally relevant conclusion. Chris Elliot's antihero is so lovably hate able that you feel the desire to both punch him in the face, and gently rock him to sleep in a comfy blanket. This comedy is probably not for everyone, but the payoff for those who understand its naive, cynical hilarity is worth the rental fee. Hell, you can buy it for under six bucks almost any where. It is truly a misunderstood work of pure cinematic bliss.

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17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Pure, unadulterated Elliott, 12 December 2004
Author: Bob Moser

I have been a loyal fan of Chris Elliott since his early appearances on

Letterman. This movie is typical of what happens when Elliott is given creative control -- wry, warped humour delivered in such a deadpan manner that you

don't know whether he is laughing at himself or if he really is a simp. This movie has given me countless hours of debate with fans and non-fans, as I have only encountered one other person who enjoyed Cabin Boy. We often lament Chris

Elliott's underrated genius and dream of the day when Cabin Boy takes its

rightful place in film history as a classic. Hard to believe its already been ten years since its release and I still crack up every time I watch it. Only thing that could top it would be a sequel -- Passion of the Cabin Boy, perhaps?

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20 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Cabin - Oh Boy!, 8 February 2005

Author: thiudans from USA

Chris Elliott's sense of humor is of the bizarre kind, and requires for the deepest understanding thereof on all levels an extremely cultivated intellect and simultaneous rejection of that traditionally conceived as the predominating cultivated aesthetic. That being said, you will not, I'm sure, misunderstand my assertion that this film is not for everyone. Perhaps it is not even for you. As you see, it has received paltry scores from the greatest part of the spectating crowds who vote on IMDb.com; but should one follow them? They have also selected such trash as Donnie Darko for placement among their trophy shelf of film. I reaffirm therefore the peculiar genial and aesthetic disposition requisite fully to enjoy Cabin Boy. It is as though one must become dumb and wise at the same time, one must see with the eyes of a fool and the heart of a sage. The film student, who possesses in varied solution this talent, will also notice how exquisite, how carefully adorned the sets are, how precise the sceneries, how composed the artful tableaux, how peerless and true the cast, how poetic each word spoken.

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11 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Exquisite Buffoonery..., 11 October 2005

Author: dangercracker from Bhutan, England

Yes, this is an excellent filmic achievement full of 'life truths' for the morally, mentally and socially compromised. (But please go out and buy the book this movie was not based upon: "The Shroud of the Thwacker" by one Sir Christopher Elliot. You will be amazed and enlightened.) When I recommend a film, I prefer to have actually seen the critter in the local cinema hall. I like to sit well back somewhere in the loges. If there are no loges, I will stand somewhere until told to take a seat. But enough of my personal peccadilloes. I did indeed attend a public screening of this delightful celluloid romp and was tickled by its wit and informed by its wisdom for many a moon thereafter. This 'flick'--if I may be so bold-- will one day be considered a classic in the genre as soon as the genre is identified. As a somewhat knowledgeable cineaste I encourage everyone to rent this stunning opus. It will heal your inner Ebert.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
not the worst movie of all time, 24 August 2004
Author: Money_is_Flesh from Canada

I've been a Chris Elliot fan since watching him on his old television series "Get a Life." I think he is the precursor to comedians such as Tom Green, and the modern gross-out comedy. The image of Elliot licking the boat with soapy water comes to mind.

Lots of people would label this movie as one of the worst movies of all time, but it's consciously absurd (or "wacky" as Christ Elliot's character might say). "Worst" movies are ones that think they are legit, like The Order, or Batman and Robin.

That being said, Cabin Boy is not the best comedy of all time. The crazy-funny parts are laugh out loud funny, but spread too far apart. I think this movie should have been wall-to-wall laughs. But it's worth it for the good parts, and Chris Elliot deserves our attention.

Watch some night alongside Freddy Got Fingered and Clifford.

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Movie Makes fun of overeducated, pampered snobby critics, 23 October 2005

Author: boondoggle129 from United States

Critics hate this film because they see so much of themselves in the protagonist: A character who spends his whole overeducated, over-pampered life sneering at every one and every thing else, the self-appointed know it all who mocks everything but produces nothing.

The protagonist is a critic, and the story makes fun of the protagonist.

It was interesting and satisfying to see the protagonist's fate... and I laughed the whole way through.

Summary: Unfortunately, people can't make a movie that trashes your run of the mill critic, and still hope for a good review.

If you are a critic know it all, you'll hate "Cabin Boy". If you have an actual sense of humor you'll love it.

Happiness guaranteed: That's what cabin boy is to me.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A Pants-Wetter Comedy, 4 June 2003

Author: CaptinChunk from Roads?...

Although they skimped on the props and sets, the writing is comic gold. With the continuos salty sea talk by the Captain and his Crew, this keeps you laughing. A good movie to watch with friends.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Odyssey for Stoners, 23 January 1999

Author: marc hickox from toronto, canada

Fuse literary themes like Candide and the Odyssey with Chris Elliott's relentless style of moronic comedy and you have a movie people will either love or hate. A wicked cast and classic special effects make up for a somewhat lethargic pace in action, but the booty of comedy in this movie make up for the long nights at sea. Watch it, own it, love it. I do.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Without hyperbole: THE greatest thing ever done by Mankind!, 23 July 2005

Author: thewoadwarrior from United States

Cabin Boy is a work of genius, pure and simple!

****** It's really as simple as this: The world divides into two kinds of people, those who GET Chris Elliot, and those who DON'T. If you're the former, you'll like this film, if you're the latter, you probably won't....DON"T WATCH IT!!! DON"T READ FURTHER...GO AWAY. ******

My fellow Cabin Boy aficionados, surely you've all noticed that people of mediocre sensibilities ALWAYS respond to works of true genius with cries of derision and scorn ("oh, that's stupid!" etc. etc.) and even fear. When faced with something their small minds can't comprehend, the unenlightened masses always reach for their "torches" and seek to destroy. Even as the great virtuoso Paganini played his violin with an unimaginable speed and sweetness, never before seen in Italy, the crowd raised a cry of "Deviltry", "He is possessed", and chased him from the stage. You need only observe the drivel on television and churned out by Hollywood to appreciate the low sophistication level of today's spoon fed audience. Most people today just don't seem to be able to appreciate the difference between a big budget, Hollywood production that IS stupid and a low budget, good movie ABOUT stupidity...and unfortunately seem to prefer the former...in droves! I'm looking at YOU Adam Sandler...et al.

Seriously, the production values of CB are pretty good for a low budget movie, The sets are well crafted, the cinematography and effects are spot on, the comedic timing of the talent is impeccable. It's NOT poorly made on any level; it's WELL crafted to create the desired effect. Sure it seems silly and looks cheesy...it's SUPPOSED to! The scripting and tone of CB is calculated to perfectly capture that unique Chris Elliot personae; the condescending, insufferably annoying, delusionallly self-satisfied, clueless idiot.

It is the one movie that my friends and I watch over and over again when we get together and want to laugh in our cups. (that means we're drinking etc. ;-) for you less sophisticated CB haters)

For the Cabin Boy fans: Watch the film "Captains Courageous" AFTER watching Cabin Boy...It's the 'serious' film CB is loosely parodying. You'll get a chuckle out of it. Cheers!

"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left." Oscar Levant

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