WATCH NOW
C.J. Mason hails from a rich pedigree of boat dealers which meant that he inherited a boat service called Mason Marine, from his father which has three lazy employees, Frank (Floyd Van Buskirk), Steve (Jeffry Stein), and a rookie Kyle (Graham Norris). For some reason, C.J. decided to become a boat dealer, which wasn’t even close to being a job requirement.
C.J. deeply wishes to further elevate his budding family’s living standard, and in the wake of suffering further abuse from my wife’s father and stalking a haughty real estate professional, C.J. Cross (Mel Fair) everything in his life seems to do a complete 360.
To begin with, C.J. makes the rookie mistake of enticing himself into a real estate scheme and he unfortunately ends up getting swindled. And out of the blue, C.J. finds Johnny at his front door and offers to assist him turn his enterprise around. Grab my breath, Johnny’s tactics may be strange, but they undoubtedly bring results and Mason Marine’s sales start booming.
“Man Overboard” is a well-crafted and intriguing film directed by Oliver Robins in his latest “Roomies” documentary. To some people, this particular film might be an independent film and it is an understatement.
“Man Overboard” is like any gimmicky off-the-peg skit or parody, it has little to no value and can easily be slotted in with the rest of the low-tier comedy films.
“Man Overboard” is indeed a low-budget independent film produced on an approximate budget of $250,000. But in the hands of director Oliver Robins (“Roomies”) and a wonderful cast ensemble, “Man Overboard” can entertain audiences and even move them at times. The film is about a man who learns what is important and another who never really does. With such a cast and crew, the apparent limitations of the film are transcended to a new level.
Usually, “Man Overboard” does not require much acting skill because it is a light-hearted comedy. It only needs one out of two of its comic bits to work to consider itself successful. Thankfully, Robins sets his goals higher which is commendable and his cast was also up to the task.
Robins achieves our sympathy completely as C.J. Kaminsky, a television actor with a long extensive background as a video games voice actor, completely gains our sympathy and affection. The character is good-hearted but cast into a rat race, which leaves him figuring a way out of the mess he has gotten into.
Mel Fair, as Johnny Cross, Conman extraordinaire, in “Halloween 2007” turns out to be affable, darkly comical, seductive, and extremely slick. Fair avoids over-exaggeration which is wise because it provides just enough reality that you laugh along with Cross’s antics while realizing how terribly cruel he is becoming.
All of C.J.’s ever-more miserable employees splendidly include C.J.’s increasingly miserable employees, Graham Norris, “The Jane Austin Book Club,” and Jeffry Stein, “Reunion” and Floyd Van Buskirk, “Balls of Fury.”
Despite “Man Overboard’s” modest budget, Jesse Brunt’s camera work is solid, as well as the technical work. The original score by Kevin McDaniels of “The Guiding Light” also helps with the solid budget.
Although $250,000 is a sizable amount of money, in comparison to most of the independent films reviewed here, it is a pretty penny indeed. However, like many discovered in the dong show theaters, it pales in comparison to the millions of doled out in those places. It is very doubtful that “Man Overboard” will take home any awards come the end-of-year ceremonies but it is certainly not the multi-million dollar example of many independent jokes. It makes tremendous sense that mid-range budget independent films would be entertaining movies, particularly since it is yet another example where a low budget does not equate to low quality.
“Man Overboard” benefits from a wonderfully coherent story from Nathan Ives and Ashley Scott Meyers and a powerful cast. Directed by Oliver Robins, fans should eagerly await its premiere at the upcoming festivals close to them, or on DVD.
To watch more movies like Man Overboard (2008) visit 123movies
Also Watch for more movies like:
