Josh Kornbluth is, well, not funny. (Letters to the Editor).

Andrea Lewis ("Josh Kornbluth Is Funny," December issue) must have been at the end of the line when the big guy was handing out senses of humor. She cites a mildly positive L.A. Times review of Haiku Tunnel and lists adjectives describing Kornbluth--"straight ahead," "friendly," "intriguing," "and, well, unusual"--that are so innocuous that the reader should get the point that Josh Kornbluth is, well, not funny.

Pedigree--so amply detailed by Lewis in the case of Kornbluth--is no substitute for the qualities of an artist's actual work (or the substance of someone's progressive politics). Kornbluth lacks a deep political or aesthetic sense and seemingly avoids making much of any statement in his movie other than demonstrating that his character should seek counseling.

Not even one-twentieth the humorous politically infused movie Office Space is, Haiku Tunnel contains one or two chuckles stretched into a laborious hour and a half. Largely ignoring the important issues relating to temp work, the movie seems to be simply, as Lewis says, an "expedition into the extraordinarily peculiar mind of Josh Kornbluth." Peculiar, yes. Funny, no.

Scott Westphal
Eau Claire, Wisconsin