Rarely does a film come along that combines such archetypal themes as the journey, coming of age and self-realization with such skill as Cabin Boy. On a hiatus from his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Chris Elliott skillfully affects a self-deprecating, ridiculous, foppish American accent for the title role of stuck-up, inexperienced Nathaniel Mayweather, who, because of the amoral trickery of David Letterman ends up accidentally joining the rough and rowdy crew of a tiny fishing boat whose captain shares with young Nathaniel all his seafaring wisdom. In a modern fable like this one, the outcome is generally predictable, just as in modern fairy tales Little Red always saves her grandmother from the wolf, and the three little pigs always learn valuable lessons about specifying construction materials for optimal wind-load resistance, but there is certainly nothing trivial or banal about this masterpiece of a modern fable. And so in Cabin Boy, the journey takes our young hero through the necessary trials that allow and encourage his personal growth from naive fancy lad to self-assured Cabin Man. Also notable are the film’s implied critique of the American educational system along with its fantastic and heart-warming presentations of the unpredictability of love, the possibility of learning from one’s subconscious through altered states of consciousness, and the mythical sexual prowess of women of certain ethnic groups.
Really, what could be weirder than a giant talking cupcake that spits tobacco? Five stars