Okay first up in kiss your wondering, what is a Carom? Chances are if you’re not from America this terminology might have you scratching your head or reaching for your dictionary.  A carom is where in pool you bounce one ball
off another in order for it to land in the pocket. The Kisses of the title refer not to literal kisses but effectively the kiss shot, which in certain circles is also regarded as a Carom... Confused? You will be.

Kisses And Caroms circles around a group of staff that work in a Pool store selling tables, cues and more popular than anything else chalk. All the events of the movie take place on one day, a day that begins with a threesome between Tara (Bicole Rayburn), Zack (Drew Wicks) and Jennifer (Nicky Stanzione). The crux of this threesome is that nobody can walk away unscarred, Zack and Jennifer are a recently separated couple, and all three just so happen to work in the same pool store. What follows on from this act are a series of comic moments and situations all caused by this threesome.

Kisses And Caroms is very similar to the movie Clerks, with the supermarket environment changed to a Pool store; seemingly okay with this similarity director of the movie Clerks brands his stamp of approval on this incredibly low budget movie. The difference this time however is that Zack is more than just an employee, he own Break time Billiards, a fact that makes his half interested views of the store all the more amusing. I say amusing, but to
be honest there are few laughs on offer with this movie, it’s all pretty bland
stuff, that’s nice enough to watch and at times a little educational, but not
in the same league as the aforementioned Clerks; this movie will never get the same sort of cult approval that Clerks generates, although to be honest there is little more than a couple of laughs between then (though not here).

All the movie surrounds for the most part is the fallout from the threesome incident, and the effect it has on a number of relationships in the store. Most importantly it’s about change, the biggest reference being that Zack sees that Jennifer acts differently around her friend Tara, something I’m sure that you’ll relate too if you’re in a relationship and have certain friends around.

You could really criticise the movie quite considerably, and to be honest with you I really want to, because despite being okay watching it’s the sort of thing you can easily do without seeing. What I commend about the movie however is the fact that is was made for less than a million dollars, features a reasonably capable acting cast, and yet somehow manages to upon release on DVD in the United States push itself up to the extent that it took more money in DVD sales than the blockbuster movie released on DVD that very same week. Imagine how sickening that would be to invest a few 70 odd times the capital that Kisses And Caroms had invested in it, and reap in a considerably less. Despite the fact that the movie is one of those “Nothing really much happened today” style offerings, it’s financially a great success.