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4.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Sea Sore remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Look, if you enjoy movies that feel like a stage play taped on a budget, you might get a kick out of Sea Sore. It’s for the folks who crave those vintage, frantic comedies where everyone is running in and out of doors. If you hate plot holes or characters making brain-dead decisions, skip it. You'll probably lose your mind.
The whole thing is basically just a lie getting bigger and bigger. Monte is the kind of guy who digs his own grave with a smile on his face. Seeing him try to play the Captain is... well, it's something. The real Captain is locked away, and frankly, I felt more for him than the hero.
There is this one bit where Monte is trying to dodge the Sergeant, and he ends up hiding in a tiny cupboard. It goes on for way too long. I think I counted at least four different people walking past that door without hearing a single sound. Maybe the walls on this ship are made of soundproof lead? Who knows.
It definitely lacks the wit of something like Loose Ankles, but it has that same desperate energy. It’s not trying to be high art, and that is its only real saving grace. The movie just wants you to giggle at a guy in a captain’s hat he clearly stole from a closet.
I found myself zoning out a bit during the musical numbers. They felt like they were forced in to pad the runtime. Honestly, it reminded me of the pacing issues in His Matrimonial Moans, where the momentum just dies whenever the plot stops to breathe.
The ending is exactly what you expect. It wraps up with a neat little bow that feels unearned, but you stop caring about logic after the first twenty minutes. Just roll with it. It’s a movie that knows it’s silly, even if it doesn't always know how to be smart about it.
If you've got a rainy afternoon and nothing else, why not? Just don't go in expecting Citizen Kane. You'll leave disappointed, and that's on you. ⚓️