THE COMEDIAN

Robert De Niro     Leslie Mann     Danny DeVito     Cloris Leachman     Harvey Keitel     Edie Falco     Patti LuPone

     Being truly funny takes talent, and The Comedian misses the mark; there are a few out-loud laughs in it, but mostly it tries to be funny by saying outrageous things nearly always with a sexual reference.  The movie won’t grab you.  Actually, the story is more interesting than the jokes.  Jackie (De Niro) is looking washed up as a comedian with a television sitcom, “Eddie’s Home”, which people have so identified with the actor they want to call him Eddie off stage.  And they either want him to entertain them with more Eddie on the spot (most annoying for him) or try to impress him with their own rendition of the Eddie character. 

     Jackie has gotten a lot of mileage as a stand-up comedian with insults that are supposed to make people laugh, and in his audiences there are as many horrified looks as there are chuckles.  (I suppose we’re supposed to think that is funny as well.)  He’s having a hard time winding down, and as a result has major anger issues, which land him in the clink.  He just can’t shut his mouth.  His agent (Falco in a fine performance) is patient with him as the daughter of his former agent, even though she is the frequent recipient of his bile.  She tries her best to get him to shape up and not insult the people she has gotten to hire him.

     During his post prison community service gig, his path crosses that of Harmony (Mann) with the same anger issues and a daddy complex.  Daddy is wealthy Mac Bernstein (Keitel), whom Jackie finds largely offensive, and the feeling is mutual.  Harmony is resistant to Jackie’s charm—which he can turn on—and his subtle advances, but she finds his comedy so endearing, she weakens. 

     The Comedian has a fine cast who are all at their best.  De Niro, Mann, and Keitel are entirely convincing in their roles.  Leachman is wonderful in her sharp comebacks and the portrayal of a very old star.  De Vito and LuPone make a great older Jewish couple just wanting to give their daughter a beautiful wedding and trying to tolerate Jackie’s dependence on them.  But the deficient script by Art Linson, Jeffrey Ross, Richard LaGravenese, and Lewis Friedman gives them little that actually works, further handicapping the work of Director Taylor Hackford.

     There is a major surprise towards the end, which is meant to give some punch to the emotional and relationship issues, but the very end is marred by blatantly copying the pièce de résistance from another well-known film not so long ago.

This is a rather mundane tragic tale of a comedian.

Grade:  D+                                                By Donna R. Copeland

WIENER-DOG

Keaton Nigel Cooke   Tracy Letts   Julie Delpy   Greta Gerwig   Kieran Culkin   Danny DeVito   Ellen Burstyn

      It’s a dog’s life—at least Wiener-Dog’s life, which goes through five owners.  Throughout, the dog appears to be serene and offers great comfort and satisfaction to others, most of whose lives are miserable.  Remi (Cooke) treasures Wiener-Dog, and gives her that name.  Unfortunately, his parents (Letts and Delpy) are poor dog (or child) caretakers, don’t train their son in the basics of caring for an animal, and take it to the vet to be put down. 

          The vet’s assistant manages to rescue the anesthetized dog when the vet answers the phone, takes it home with her, and nurses it back to health.  Writer-director Todd Solondz slips bizarre bits of humor in his films, and here, he has included two characters from a previous movie, Welcome to the Dollhouse.  The nurse, played by Greta Gerwig, is named Dawn Wiener, the character in Dollhouse who was teased and called “Wiener Dog” at school.  Now she is grown up and chances to meet a fellow classmate from grade school, Brandon McCarthy (McCulkin), who calls out to her, “Wiener Dog!”  After chatting a bit, he asks if she wants to go to Ohio with him.  He doesn’t seem to care that much for her, but he likes the dog.

          In Ohio, they stay with his brother and his wife (both of whom seem to have Down’s Syndrome).  Dawn is so good-hearted, when the couple really takes to the dog, which she has named Doody, she leaves her with them in their stable suburban neighborhood.

          Somehow, though, the dog manages to get out and go exploring for many miles, and is picked up by Dave (DeVito), a severely depressed, angry screenwriter and teacher at a film school, where he is about to be fired because of his negative attitude.  He comes up with a plan that I won’t divulge, and the dog ends up going to another owner.

         Nana (Burstyn) is very old and mostly blind, so has a caretaker, but the dog sits by her constantly and seems to be about the only joy she has in life.  But the story doesn’t end there…

         Continuing his recurring themes about troubled people and families, death, and cruelty Solondz dishes those up again in this film, and although it’s labeled a “comedy” it is not likely to draw out much laughter.  I did find Danny DeVito funny at times, such as after giving a synopsis of his sordid screenplay, he moans, “I wanted it to be funny.”  I also chuckled when he puts a frilly dress on Wiener-Dog and takes her out walking, and when he continually instructs him film students that every screenplay starts with “What if…”. 

      The cast of actors is really fine, and James Lavino’s music and Edward Lachman’s cinematography all brighten up the screen in its telling some very dark tales.  The exception, of course, is the interminably long shot of dog diarrhea.

You’ll say, “Awwwww” to Wiener-Dog herself, but "Noooo" to the dark tale.

Grade:  D+                        By Donna R. Copeland