Humble Pie - DVD Review

MONTEREY
Street: Dec. 8
Prebook: Nov. 10
> Monterey picks up a heart-felt gem with rich potential.

There is an off-kilter Napoleon Dynamite vibe to this deftly constructed, funny/sad tale of an overweight grocery store clerk (Hubbel Palmer, who also penned the script), which isn’t all that surprising as both films were produced by Jeremy Coon. In this case, the scenes are shot as everyday tableaux, with slow zooms against ordinary backdrops, and the acting is more about charm than chops. The story finds Palmer’s gentle giant Tracy Orbison living with his bitter mother (Kathleen Quinlan) and quirky sister (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and the subsequent shake-up they experience when a loveable, narcissistic acting teacher (William Baldwin) invades their lives. Touching and honest, Humble Pie wears its earnest indie cred on Palmer’s oversized sleeve.

Shelf Talk: Indie fans and those looking for the next Napoleon Dynamite will ignite word-of-mouth to get this one moving. Monterey plans to give Pie a marketing push at retail with exposure on movie Web sites (JoBlo, IndieWire), College Humor, Paste, iTunes and other Internet portals. Baldwin, Quinlan and 24’s Rajskub legitimize the cast.