'Standing Up, Falling Down' Review
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 30 Minutes
Production Companies: Tilted Windmill Productions, Whitewater Films, Mangano Movies & Media
Distributor: Shout! Studios
Director: Matt Ratner
Screenwriter: Peter Hoare
Cast: Billy Crystal, Ben Schwartz, Eloise Mumford, Grace Gummer and Nate Corddry, with Debra Monk and Kevin Dunn
After four years of chasing his stand-up comedy dream in Los Angeles, 34-year-old Scott Rollins (Ben Schwartz) has crashed and burned. Hard. Left with little money and a fledgling at best “career”, Scott has no choice but to regroup, lick his wounds, and return home to his parent’s house in Long Island. While trying to figure out what to do next, Scott pines after his ex, Becky Brookes (Eloise Mumford), a successful photographer who has since married a former mutual friend. On a night out at the bar, Scott strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric dermatologist, Marty (Billy Crystal), who has regrets of his own. Marty and Scott both help each other find the courage to face the failures in their lives.
Thomas Wolfe once said, You Can't Go Home Again. Well, more like he wrote a book stating that. But the very brave and few always make their way back home, especially to the small town where everyone seems to know everyone in. That’s the case for Scott Rollins, who returns to his small town and finds emotional refuge from a dermatologist whom he befriends.
While this is a familiar story where you have the old school wise man with regrets and the young cynic needing to move onto the next chapter of his life, the chemistry between Ben Schwartz and Billy Crystal is the meat, the core, of Standing Up, Falling Down.
When you cast Ben Schwartz he’s usually placed as the comic relief who often resembles the same personality as his iconic role of John Ralphio. And when he’s not used correctly, sometimes he comes across as the:
He’s Jean Ralphio one too many times in movies but, with this being his headline performance as the film primarily focuses on him, he’s amazing. He showcases his range through emotional vulnerability as Scott. Usually, when a film focuses on a person who has a passion for an occupation, they barely show him doing that occupation. Here, you see Schwartz doing stand-up and he’s naturally funny. A lot of the humor presented here is organic and natural, whether he’s interacting with Crystal or anyone else. Hell, he displays part of his dramatic side and delivers a great performance.
But, Billy Crystal… he steals the show as Marty. He’s downright incredible. Aforementioned, this movie shines the most when it’s Schwartz and Crystal bouncing off of each other and the friendship they develop. What I love about Marty as a character is how much he relates to modern times. There’s a joke revolving around social media that is pretty funny and one of the highlight scenes. He’s not just an old guy with wisdom, but he’s also surprisingly up-to-date, which a lot of movies of this type fail to incorporate. The dialogue is often so side-splittingly funny that you make quotes out of some lines. You know a comedy is good when you can’t decipher whether the two leads are either ad-libbing or on script, for everything about their dynamic feels so organic.
With a set up like this, you can easily predict the narrative routes the film takes, and even though it does, there is a mature story that makes it a bit more forgiving. That said, there is a romantic subplot that I was not so fond of which involves Scott being a homewrecker and passionately being open about it. It truly takes several pages out of films such as This is Where I Leave You and it’s cringeworthy every time it’s focused on. Then, the story has another familiar element revolving around the regretful father trying to reconnect with his spiteful son. Seriously, Marty’s son is an asshole who resents everything about his dad and, while it’s a bit too over the top at times, you understand why he resents him as the film goes on.
This could’ve just been your generic small town homecoming comedy as it hits a lot of the cliched tropes of one, but what elevates it and makes it stand out is the duo and the script. There is a remixed nuance to the narrative where it implements mature themes and handles them well instead of hamming it up to make it hokey. I nearly teared up several times because of how well some scenes were made and how genuinely heartbreaking some of the areas the characters lead down, especially Marty. Honestly, because of how poignantly detailed he’s written, you have emotional attachment to him.
The subtly is poor. Whatever words of wisdom Marty says to Scott early on always seem to find a return, and when it does, it’s so cliche. There is one in particular that happens at the end which becomes embarrassingly/shamelessly hokey and leaves somewhat of a bad taste in your mouth. But for what it's worth, Standing Up, Falling Down is a fun watch. Like, an afternoon during the summer in an art house theater. It has enough heart and laughs to leave you with a smile on your face for the rest of your day.
While overly familiar with its narrative and the beats, Standing Up, Falling Down prospers from a great natural dynamic between the two comedic leads and the surprising amount of maturity in the script.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 71%
