dr_midnight32

I've been hearing Eddie Pepitone on Dana Gould's podcast for a while now, loving his thoughts, jokes, and take on the world. When I saw that this doc was on Amazon Prime, I had to watch it and man, was I rewarded.

It's well worth it to see this for Pepitone's stand-up alone, but the peaks behind the curtain to get a feel for the real struggles this guy is going up against are really what pulled me in. Hilarious but tortured is a common statement for a lot of stand-ups and Pepitone fits that perfectly. Yet, while he's struggling with a lot of different aspects of life and himself, you do get the sense that he's making progress, understanding and coping to the extent that he can and getting better or at least trying to. Some of the people interviewed cast him in lesser light or go after him because of his level of success hasn't reached their level of respectability which shows their own lack of understanding in our niche media world. If he's able to be successful enough to live in LA by just doing stand-up and bit parts, then he's on a level that most people who dream of doing that will never achieve. Perhaps some of his recovery would be stronger if he dropped the friends that seemed to just use him as a punching bag.

Soapbox aside, I heartily laughed at the comedy and the by the numbers "working my way up to a big show" end was easy to give yourself over to since the charm helped you believe in it more. His show-stopping heckler bit at the end was genius and the highlight of the show.

Watch this one now.

Some movies are bad, yet are funny bad. Some movies are bad, yet you can see that they tried and just fell short of what they wanted. This is neither. Atrocious audio, terrible acting, long stretches of padding just to fill out the running time, and one of the worst stories I've seen set to film (and I've seen Nutty Professor II: The Klumps). If you need to fall asleep, throw this in and let the Sandman take you. Not even worth watching drunk.

I'm from the area that this was shot in, yet I still cannot get behind this film. Local pride doesn't even make up for the abject boredom that this movie emanates. Avoid at all costs.

Supposedly there have been a lot of comparisons drawn between this movie and Home Alone, but beyond the lead character being a boy, I really don't see it. A snapshot of life and the Dennis the Menace type situations that this young boy falls into or creates himself is not what you expect. Almost flippant at the beginning and then gaining a conscience at the end, the character of Vovochika shows many of his sides and entertains well. The parents are believable and likable even through their punishments and frustrations. The love interest and class divide were interesting to watch play out. Overall, an enjoyable experience that those looking to take a look at other cultures could watch and appreciate all the way through.