K-State Collegian Review: Film does not depict realistic situations, still an enjoyable afternoon flick

Kansas State Collegian
By Matt Sandberg

The delivery boy is a prestigious profession in our society. I should know - my first job back in high school was delivering delicious Domino's pizza.

 In any case, an indie film about the lives of a bunch of delivery boys did not strike me as particularly entertaining. Fortunately, their hijinks turned out to be far more entertaining than mine were.

The "Delivery Boy Chronicles" center around a jaded, overweight, 30-something man named Mike (Ralph Price) and his fellow band of misfit, poorly-motivated delivery professionals. His friends in the movie are the same stereotypes Hollywood seems to think all fast-food restaurants consist of, including the fat Republican, the frizzy-haired, Napoleon Dynamite-esque weirdo, the liberal hippie feminist, the drugged-out conspiracy theorist and the "token black guy."

 Mike's typical day consists of rolling out of bed hung over at 2 p.m., going to a field out in the middle of nowhere to cultivate a secret crop of hallucinogenic mushrooms, getting attacked by a pack of wild ostriches, and then going to a job interview high on 'shrooms. I think we all can relate to that.

This movie has more than its fair share of random moments, including a man dressed in a camel costume who occasionally pops up in the movie to taunt the main characters. The main characters also break out into spontaneous song and dance numbers, with people in animal costumes and little people throwing glitter in the air.

Pretty standard stuff for delivery people, trust me.

Be warned: this movie has a lot of drug use. I counted about 26 scenes with a bong in this movie, and I wasn't even paying that much attention.

 I wondered why I enjoyed the "Delivery Boy Chronicles" so much, and then I realized that the movie reminds me a bit of "Waiting," the cult comedy hit with Ryan Reynolds and Dane Cook about the mundane lives of servers in those cheesy family restaurants. This movie has many of the same elements, and people who ever have worked in the food industry or as any type of delivery person certainly will appreciate the humor of this film.

This movie is not without its faults, however. The acting is questionable and wooden, and the editing reminds me of a student film - awkward camera angles and choppy editing.

I also would have felt more comfortable watching this movie if I recognized any of the actors.

Unfortunately, the only actor with any sort of career is Shawn Mullins, who plays Tig and is best known as the singer of "Lullaby" and "Shimmer."

Overall, if you overlook the less-than-slick production values and the lack of recognizable stars in this DVD, kicking back and watching this movie would certainly be a good way to spend an afternoon.

For more information on this film, visit www.deliveryboychronicles.com.