| Cabin Boy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Adam Resnick |
| Screenplay by | Adam Resnick |
| Story by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Steve Yaconelli |
| Edited by | Jon Poll |
| Music by | Steve Bartek |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $3.7 million |
Cabin Boy is a 1994 Americanfantasycomedy film directed byAdam Resnick, co-produced byTim Burton, and starring comedianChris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked forLate Night with David Letterman in the 1980s as well as co-creating theFox sitcomGet a Life in the early 1990s.
Nathaniel Mayweather is a snobbish, self-centered, arrogant,virginal "fancy lad." After graduation, he is invited by his father to sail toHawaii aboardThe Queen Catherine. After annoying the limousine driver who is taking him to board the boat, he is forced to walk the rest of the way.
Nathaniel makes a wrong turn into a small fishing village where he meets the imbecilic cabin boy/first mate Kenny ofThe Filthy Whore, which Nathaniel believes to beTheQueen Catherine as part of a theme. The next morning, Captain Greybar finds Nathaniel in his room and explains that the boat will not return to dry land for three months. Nathaniel unsuccessfully tries to convince each fisherman to set sail to Hawaii, but convinces Kenny into doing so. However, the crew reaches Hell's Bucket, aBermuda Triangle-like area where strange events occur. The ship is caught in a fierce storm and Kenny is knocked overboard and drowns. With only one island in the entire area, the crew decide to set sail there. Without a cabin boy, Greybar forces Nathaniel to do the chores in return for taking him to Hawaii, as well as teaching him how to become a better person.
After failing all the chores he is assigned, the fishermen decide to give Nathaniel another chore that involves dragging him on a floating raft for a week. Nathaniel quickly runs out of supplies, begins consuming salt water, and suffers extreme sunburn after confusing cooking oil as lotion. He also realizes he might be going insane after sighting Kenny's ghost and seeing a floating cupcake that spits tobacco. After falling into the water he is saved by a shark-man. After nine days, Nathaniel is pulled back in and tells what happened. It is revealed by Skunk and Big Teddy that the shark-man is known as Chocki, the offspring of a male viking and female shark.
Nathaniel spots a beautiful young woman named Trina swimming in the ocean. After she is pulled up in a net, Nathaniel becomes smitten with her. Not pleased with another passenger on board, the fishermen decide to strand Trina and Nathaniel on the island they're sailing toward. Finally reaching the island, the crew searches for components to fix their boat. Nathaniel tries to get closer to Trina, who constantly rejects him.
Greybar and Skunk suggest to Nathaniel that a blue-skinned, six-armed woman named Calli can help build his confidence. After an encounter with Calli that results in his first sexual experience, Nathaniel again meets Trina, who becomes attracted to him immediately. Calli's husband Mulligan, a giant, comes home to find a man's bag. Realizing what Calli has done, Mulligan decides to find her lover and kill him. Nathaniel tries to save everyone by confessing to the giant he's the one who slept with Calli. Mulligan is about to kill Nathaniel with a giant nail clipper when Chocki saves him. Nathaniel then kills Mulligan by choking him with his own belt.
Finally reaching Hawaii, Nathaniel offers his newfound companions a job at the hotel where his father is the owner, which they refuse. They tell Nathaniel he's a fancy lad who should stay in Hawaii with his dad where he belongs. Nathaniel and the fishermen part ways, including Trina. His equally-snobbish father, William Mayweather, condemns his son's actions. Seeing through his father how snobbish he used to be before boardingThe Filthy Whore, Nathaniel discards his wig and leaves to find Trina. They then both join the crew onThe Filthy Whore.
The project was originally to be directed by Burton, who had contactedChris Elliott after seeingGet a Life. Resnick took over after Burton was offered the filmEd Wood.[1]
The film received mixed reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes, it has a 48% rating based on reviews from 27 critics, with aweighted average of 5.2/10.[2]
Chris Elliott earned aRazzie Award nomination for Worst New Star, but lost toAnna Nicole Smith forNaked Gun33+1⁄3: The Final Insult.[3][4] The film was nominated for Worst Picture at the 1994Stinkers Bad Movie Awards but lost toNorth.
Hip hop producerDan "the Automator" Nakamura named his publishing company, Sharkman Music, after the film.[6] References to the film have appeared in multiple works by Nakamura.[6] For example, the Bulk Recordings edition ofKool Keith's debut solo albumDr. Octagonecologyst, contains a dialogue excerpt from the film preceding the song "halfsharkalligatorhalfman"; the hook of the song, "Half Man, Half Shark", is sampled from the same dialogue.[7]
Post-hardcore bandA Static Lullaby reference the film in their song "Half Man, Half Shark; Equals One Complete Gentleman", the title of which is a paraphrase of an Elliott line spoken in the film.[citation needed] The song can be found on theirFaso Latido album.
David Letterman has a small cameo in this film, at the time his only big screen credit in which he wasn't playing himself. For many years, whenever discussing Hollywood topics onThe Late Show, he would cite his cameo inCabin Boy as the sum of his relevant experience.
