Kill the Man Reviews

In a supreme bit of irony, the anti-corporate farce Kill the Man was picked up by Blockbuster Video as part of its program to claim the exclusive distribution rights to a handful of straight-to-video features. Apparently, the company was undaunted by the fact that directors Jon Kean and Tom Booker had advertised their film with anti-Blockbuster (and anti-Starbucks, and anti-Kinko's) buttons at Sundance. Unfortunately, nothing onscreen equals the thematic incisiveness of that offscreen detail, as Kean and Booker produce a broad and immature take on the fight between the independents and the chains. They get in a few clever slams, including naming the rival copy shop King Co. (instead of Kinko), but much of the movie revolves around the flimsy, juvenile tricks Luke Wilson and Joshua Malina concoct to draw business from their impersonal competitors. It's lighthearted fun, but the production feels so trivial that it might just float away. As a celebration of independent spirit, and a metaphor for independent filmmaking, it probably won a few appreciative smiles at Sundance, as well as the moral support of countless others. But like the underdog copy shop itself, Kill the Man probably didn't reach enough people to spread the message -- which underscores the truth of that message all the more, and earns the film a hollow sense of victory.