neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Haiku Tunnel
	Josh & Jacob Kornbluth Josh Kornbluth, Helen Shumaker, Harry Shearer 2001 Widescreen, closed caption; French, English subtitles; director's commentary; deleted scenes; outtakes; theatrical trailers; production notes.		Working with a modest budget and a lot of determination, monologist Josh Kornbluth has produced a film adaptation of his one-man show, "Haiku Tunnel," about the demeaning experiences of a temporary office worker at a law firm. He and his brother Jacob co-directed this low-key, dark-hued comedy about a nebbish's progress — or lack of it — in the lower strata of company culture. But it's mild stuff, and it revolves so much around the rotund, neurotic Josh — or is that just a character he plays? — that you have to be amused by him and his insights or the whole thing is slow going. To give "Haiku Tunnel" its due, there are genuinely funny, insightful moments regarding the tedium, ritual and interpersonal dynamics of office work, implying that Josh knows, first-hand, of which he lampoons. And a couple supporting players are right on the money: Helen Shumaker is perfectly sinister as the office manager who controls Josh's fate, and Harry Shearer ("This Is Spinal Tap") is a stitch in a cameo as the firm's orientation lecturer.