Haiku Tunnel

The nightmare of being employed as an office temp is given whimsical homage by sweetly roly-poly San Francisco comic Josh Kornbluth in this semi-autobiographical first person comedy in which Kornbluth (playing himself) recounts the oddball events of a very brief job he once held at a law firm, effectively inviting the viewer inside his convoluted and bemused mind. But while the film has the ring of humorous authenticity and is clever with, and proud of, its shoestring budget, Haiku Tunnel smacks of a pet project, eventually becoming less like a comedy and more like a guy working out his neuroses in front of a camera. Still, as it's amusing enough to earn the affections of anyone who might identify with the circumstances, consider this a strong optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)