KARAOKE MAN – SLIFF Review

Review by Dana Jung

Offbeat love stories full of quirky characters are certainly nothing new. They can be groundbreaking (THE GRADUATE) or funny (RUSHMORE) or sweet (THE OH IN OHIO), and they seem to be perfectly suited to independent filmmaking, with low budgets and relatively unknown casts. These films live or die on the strength of their scripts, creating eccentric but lovable characters trying to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of life and love. The best of these movies find a rhythm with their actors and paint lovely pictures of people. The latest entry in the genre, KARAOKE MAN, directed and co-written by Mike Petty, achieves these lofty heights for most part.

Louis is a brilliant but eccentric artist who has accepted a new job at a small independent comic book company. He is immediately smitten by Glennis, who is not so eccentric but is an aspiring singer/songwriter. We know from the start that these two belong together, and their budding romance is funny and heartwarming. One of Louis’ ideas for impressing Glennis is to help his natural shyness by donning an old (and rare) costume of some obscure superhero (a subplot here offers lots of comic relief). Thus Louis becomes ‘Karaoke Man’ and sings at the karaoke bar where Glennis works.

The film mixes the worlds of karaoke, comic book geeks, trivia, and the serious music business in a bright and entertaining way for most of its length. Veteran TV actors Brian Dietzen (NCIS) and Caitlin Crosby (HARD TIMES OF RJ BERGER) shine in a cast peppered with good performances. Marc Evan Jackson must also be mentioned as creating one of the funniest and wisest parental figures in recent memory. Other recognizable supporting faces include Spencer Locke (COUGAR TOWN) and James Denton (DESPARATE HOUSEWIVES) as Glennis’ co-workers.

Full of philosophical wit such as, “Today is the last day of your previous life,” and “I like unrequited love – it’s safer,” these actors make the most of the sharp dialogue. It isn’t until the last quarter of the film that things become rather ordinary. We get the Rude Ex-Boyfriend Showing Up scene, then the Sad Breakup scene, and a climax where things literally unravel in a heavy-handed metaphor that was fresh when first mentioned halfway through the film. All this makes the ending seemed rushed and rather cliched, which is a shame because KARAOKE MAN had me at “comic book”.