Coming of age is all the time rather a lot much less enjoyable while you’re already grown up, a fact astutely understood in “Standing Up, Falling Down.”
Chronicling a humorist’s disgraceful return dwelling after failing to make waves in Hollywood, director Matt Ratner targets the humiliation, disappointment and awkwardness of failing at a youthful dream whereas suggesting that these emotions solely maintain going — and solely incrementally get simpler — irrespective of how outdated you get. Ben Schwartz and Billy Crystal make a strong pair of intergenerational friends on this pleasantly diverting comedy-drama.
Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog”) performs Scott, a comic we first see halfheartedly warming up a crowd subsequent to the lavatory in a espresso store. Like too many different dreamers, he headed West hoping to stake a declare as the subsequent nice stand-up, however now he’s shifting again to stay along with his dad and mom in Long Island, tail tucked between his legs and completely decided to not settle for a job working for his father Gary (Kevin Dunn). Mom Jeanie (Debra Monk) stays his greatest fan at the same time as she suggests he pursue work on the publish workplace, whereas his youthful sister Megan (Grace Gummer) equally lives at dwelling, although she appears to be like down on him from a administration coaching program she just lately started at a shopping-mall pretzel stand.
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On his first night time in town, the would-be comic encounters Marty (Crystal), an enthralling drunk who seems to be the native dermatologist, a specialist whose assist Scott truly wants. After a extra formal go to to Marty’s workplace, the 2 bond over the doc’s irreverent humorousness and start spending time collectively; Marty turns into the enjoyable, supportive father determine and typically instigator that Scott wants, and Scott turns into a consuming buddy and surrogate protégé for the carousing sexagenarian. But as Scott conspires to reconnect with Becky (Eloise Mumford, the “Fifty Shades” collection), a girlfriend he deserted to pursue his goals of stardom, Marty cautions him towards attempting to make a relationship work that was by no means meant to.
Drawing on two of his personal marriages, Marty provides his younger good friend life classes that he typically nonetheless struggles with himself: The outdated drunk has two estranged kids, Adam (Nate Corddry) and Taylor (Caitlin McGee, “Modern Love”), he can’t appear to make amends with irrespective of how onerous he tries. But as Scott ventures tentatively again to the stage for a second shot at comedy, the younger man begins to look extra truthfully at his strengths and shortcomings, shedding a few of his bruised satisfaction in an effort to enterprise in the direction of a brand new aim that’s maybe a bit extra manageable for his ability set.
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Watching an upstart comic and a veteran play reverse each other on-screen is by itself a hoot; Crystal’s character is supposed to bounce on a fragile edge between charming and obnoxious, however the elder statesman attracts simply from a deep effectively of expertise cultivating chemistry on display screen, which Schwartz parries with ease and dexterity.
Arriving simply weeks after “Sonic the Hedgehog,” the place Schwartz mildly toned down his Jean-Ralphio shtick from “Parks and Rec” to attempt to make the motormouthed mammal appear charming, this movie finds the quick-witted performer on the again foot a bit extra, and in a mode extra convincingly likable. At the identical time, the least efficient moments are those that really feel like “bits” — a riff on social media and “being white” whereas hanging out in a bar, for instance — however as a lot as a result of the would-be comic nonetheless hasn’t discovered his performer’s voice on stage, or a approach to merge it along with his actual one.
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It looks like there was extra to do with Crystal’s Marty and the forces…
