Comedy

STARBUCK (2011)

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This French/Canadian comedy about a man who has unwittingly fathered over 500 kids through a sperm donation mix-up has its moments but suffers by laying it on a little too thick. As it’s in French one can almost forgive the over-sentimentalising. Almost. It skates by on its charm. Ken Scott directs this with just a little too much sugar. He was hired to direct the American remake, using his screenplay, The Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughan.

The majority of the charm is down to the leading man, Patrick Huard, here playing David Wozniak, the receiver of the overwhelming news. Wozniak is a man-child who has yet to let go of the shackles of early of adulthood.

Also worth mentioning is Wozniak’s friend and lawyer, Avocat played by Antoine Bertrand. His approach to comedy is subtle for a part that is a gift for any actor. Interestingly, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Starlord, Chris Pratt played the part in the Vince Vaughan version.

It felt like the 109 minute running time wasn’t enough to play out this potentially very funny and at times touching tale. It was too ambitious and what it lost due to this was evident in the film.

The film is, at times, charming, gentle and fun, but never manages to stray into pure quality territory.

A shame.

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2.5/5

COMEDIAN (2002)

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Where does comedy come from? What does it take to be successful?

Following on from the recent viewing of I Am Comic (hear me roar), the next stand up doc on the list is a different beast but dealing with some of the same issues that stand up-comics have.

Jerry Seinfeld decides to get back on the boards and develop an act that is wholly new. This challenge he gives himself sets the scene for a very cool documentary going behind the scenes of a stand-ups’ world. He shares the screen time with a comedian, Orny Adams, who wants to take his career to the next level. This works as an interesting counter-point to Jerry’s journey.

Here, Jerry meets up with many working comics to get to the root of what stand-up is. For an incredibly successful comic who hadn’t done the live rounds for many years this proves to be a challenge that Jerry takes to with aplomb. He decides to throw out all his previous sets and start again. This proves to be a challenge but we are talking about Jerry Seinfeld who is a little bit successful.

The Orny Adams section is very interesting, with a smattering of self-sabotage and an over inflated ego, this is a perfect example of how NOT to do it.

Featuring Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Ray Romano, Garry Shandling, and Bill Cosby as well as a plethora of other lesser known but funny and successful comics, this shows how difficult and, with talent and tenacity, rewarding the world can be whether you are at the top or the bottom of the game.

Very infotaining.

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3.5/5