Standing Up, Falling Down

Billy Crystal's nuanced performance meets very good writing in a tale about uncommon friendships and uncommon redemption. Not a perfect film, but great performances and quick pacing enable the writing and plot to tell an efficient, funny, touching story well.

I saw this film at the Glasgow Film Festival. It starts off very well for the first 30 mins and I was very engaged. Thereafter the film gets bogged down and never moves out of second gear. A shame as a good and interesting film was struggling to get out.

A failed 30-something comedian commiserates with a regretful 60-something dermatologist. Hi-jinks and Friendship ensue: the comedic drama, old-fashioned style- tried and true themes of failure, regret, the search for redemption, finding it where you least expect it, etc. Pedestrian and cliche? Slight and minor? If you say so, but what if the movie's good? "Standing Up, Falling Down" knows what it is and stays within it's wheelhouse- you're drawn in without really expecting it because it feels human in that uniquely cinematic way. It's also buoyed by great chemistry between its leads. Ben Schwartz, mostly known for his more over-the-top comedic performances, plays it closer to the vest here, almost the straight man to Billy Crystal, who, while not really being a dramatic actor, pulls off his role with aplomb. It's nice to see a movie like this sneak in behind enemy lines- one that wears its heart on its sleeve without being maudlin or cynically pandering to some kind of denominator. It's a movie that's quietly profound- sure, kind of in a bumper sticker way, but you don't go to the movies to watch filmed philosophical treatises. I ended the film with a smile in my heart- that's gotta be worth something...

By all means it should be a 70 tops, but it has heart, a great chemistry between the characters and good balance between drama and comedy. Ben Schwartz is great here but Billy Crystal really steals the show.

Disproving the old adage that you can't go home, Standing Up, Falling Down shows that laughs and sentiment can be a salve for the sadness of not making it in the big city. If you're a standup comedian like Scott (Ben Schwartz) and you can make them laugh at home, then you should come home: "Ford Fiesta - Why do they even CALL it that? I feel like it's never really a 'fiesta' inside. Right? It's just a car!" (Scott in standup mode)

Also, if you meet an aging dermatologist like Marty (Billy Crystal-never better), and the two of you can do friendly screwball comedy dialogue in regular conversation, then you made a great choice to come home. It's my long way around for saying this is a terrifically-satisfying comedy-drama in large part because these two are so well matched, like Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin in The Kominsky Method.

Scott is running from big-city failure back home to face more failure as he regrets his breakup with Becky (Eloise Mumford) when he last left home (She has recently married an attorney). Yet he succeeds in making a lasting friendship with Marty and gaining a love prospect or two along the way.

Scott faces the indifference of his disappointed dad while Marty faces off an estranged son-both funny guys have issues familiar to most of their audiences. Dad's disappointment that Scott won't even work for his lumber yard, and Marty's estrangement from his son and, more importantly, grandson are the twin impediments to their lives being better every day (Marty: "Regret is the only thing that's real. It's why the good lord gave us weed and booze- numbing agents.").

The fact that both friends can mine the circumstances for laughs helps themselves and the film. I'm not sure currently you can have better bantering buddies in a film that explores real-life challenges.