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Los Enchiladas!

Mitch Hedberg, Dave Attell, Todd Barry, Marc Maron

"Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one you can get yelled at for having. 'Damn it, Otto, you're an alcoholic.' 'Damn it, Otto, you have lupus.' One of those two doesn't sound right." – Mitch Hedberg

We live in a McDonalds’ comedy world. Rather than risk anything, the masses like everything the same, safe, no risk, just give to me on a plate. Mediocre sitcoms and other fare rule the airwaves while shows like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Greg the Bunny,” “Dead Like Me,” “Pushing Daisies,” and “Arrested Development” are canceled before their time. The sanitized for your protection Jay Leno consistently beat the edgier Dave Letterman in the late night war ratings and sadly the one who will probably be begging for change by the freeway onramp when the awful Leno experiment fails is the smart and humorous Conan O’Brien. The standup world is ruled by the Larry the Cable Guys and Dane Cooks. The truly creative comedians often have a hard time finding a huge payday. Like Bill Hicks and Sam Kinison before him, the brilliant Mitch Hedberg with his quirky stoner style was almost impossible to put into a box.

“Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day. Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck is like a weak midget trying to bring you down.”

If you have never heard of Mitch Hedberg, you are missing something special. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he was drawn to doing standup even though he suffered from severe stage fright which caused him to often close his eyes, wear dark glasses, let his long hair hang over his face, or even turn his back to the audience. Tall and lanky, Hedberg’s style of humor most closely resembled Steven Wright with one-line non-sequitur jokes that bordered on the absurd and usually involved word play. Developing an off-balanced delivery over six years mainly spent in the comedy clubs of Seattle, Hedberg finally got his big break by appearing on the David Letterman Show in 1996. In total he made ten appearances on the late night show over the next few years. He was probably best known as the voice heard in the Jimmy John’s restaurant chain and the Atlanta Thrashers’ hockey commercials. Throughout his adult life, Hedberg battled a drug problem, even getting arrested in Austin, Texas for possession of heroin. On March 30, 2005, he was found dead as a result of an overdose of a mixture of cocaine and heroin called a speedball.

“My sister wanted to be an actress, but she never made it. She does live in a trailer. She got halfway. She's an actress, she just never gets called to the set.”

The main problem that Hollywood had with Mitch Hedberg is what do they do with him. His stoner persona and laidback demeaner made him less than family friendly. His humor had no theme or trademark on which to base a series or movie on like Tim Allen, Rosanne Barr or Jeff Foxsworthy. Not handsome or well-groomed, his mannerisms made it extremely difficult to cast him in stereotypical leading man roles. That is why, except for cameo appearances in Almost Famous and Lords of Dogtown, the low budget, little seen Los Enchiladas! is Mitch’s sole feature film appearance.

“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”

Joining Hedberg in the cast are three of his best friends in standup Todd Barry, Marc Maron and Dave Attell. Like their cohort, Maron, Barry and Attell have their own unique form of comedy. Maron is best known for being a former host on the liberal Air America radio network. Attell brings his New York City anger into his humor that is often obscene and non sequitur. He is probably best renown as the host of Comedy Central’s relaunch of the 1980s classic “The Gong Show.” (Don’t worry if you don’t remember it, if you blinked, you missed it.) Barry, in many ways, is a modern Bob Newhart in his laid back style and presentation. Also featured in cameo roles are many friend and local actors from the Minnesota area.

“It's very dangerous to wave to people you don't know because what if they don't have hands? They'll think you're cocky.”

So, what do you do if you are a hot, cutting edge comedian and Hollywood struggles to find a vehicle for you? You write, direct, and star in your own film and probably stock the catering table in your down time. Hedberg decided to draw from his own life. In 1999, he finally got his chance. Until Mitch was able to make ends meet by doing standup, he mainly made ends meet as a dishwasher at Chi-Chi’s. (The exterior of one of the restaurant he worked at for many years is featured in the film.)

“I would imagine that if you could understand Morse code, a tap dancer would drive you crazy.”

Much like the 2005 movie Waiting…that starred Ryan Reynolds, Los Enchiladas! focuses on the wacky events that take place in a restaurant, many taken from Mitch’s real life. Located in a suburb of St. Paul, on the day before Cinco de Mayo (kind of like the 4^th of July for Mexican eating establishments), Hedberg plays a drifter who has a job in the place and has to put up with the typical nonsensical abuses of management. Things take a turn for the worse when the manager attacks a competing restaurant’s mascot, a dancing Gyro, and flees before the police can arrest him. The head “chef” has also disappeared, jumping a beatnik poetry coven that specializes in exotic menu writing. With the adults gone, chaos erupts as the remaining staff, led by Lee (Hedberg), try to keep the place open until the night crew can replace them. Alcohol, drugs, sex, let the games begin.

“An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.”

Rarely seen since it appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999, it has all the earmarks of an independent film. The plot struggles in places, some of the actors are overmatched and hammy at times, the cinematography is awful, and several scenes could have been done better. It is the type of film that major studios buy all the time to remake or use for a template. Yet, Mitch’s genius is there. Real fans will spot a half dozen of his most famous wise cracks.

“I’m against picketing, but I don’t know how to show it.”

So, should you search out this film? The only reason it still has any legs is that, after his death Hedberg has been discovered by the college crowd, most of who would have thought he was stupid when he was alive, but since it is hip to like Mitch now, they are fans. My advice is simple. Listen to some of Mitch’s standup on Youtube. If you like his routines, move onto his cds, then the bootlegs and other interviews, and even visit his wife’s website. If you are still a huge fan, try to find a copy of this thing. It is only for true fans and mainly is an example of lost potential.

“I want to hang a map of the world in my house. Then I’m gonna put pins into all the locations that I’ve traveled to, but first I’m gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won’t fall down.”

. Verdict: An example of lost potential