As "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life" (2023 release; 89 min.) opens, director (and lifelong close friend) Rob Reiner and Brooks are in a near-empty restaurant. Reiner asks some questions, and Brooks reminisces about this, that or the other. At this point we are 10 min. Into the documentary.
Couple of comments: Albert Brooks (ne Albert Einstein, no, really!) had a good run at in as a comedian and later actor-writer-director. But he never really made it into the stratosphere, commercially that is. For that his kind of humor and comedy was a bit too off-center. Chances are you can't name a single of the movies he directed (and usually starred in himself). Thar is not to knock the guy. It's just that, even though I certainly was aware who he was, he never became a giant. Can you name any movie off the top of your head that Brooks directed (and typically also starred in)? I couldn't, although watching this documentary some of them came back to me for sure. Turns out that plenty of big names including Sharon Stone, Larry David, James L Brooks, Conan O'Brien, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill, just to name those, feel differently and describe Brooks as groundbreaking. Or as one puts it: the "caviar of comedy". Ok then. But is the documentary itself any good? It certainly is entertaining. The hour and a half just flew by. But that doesn't make it truly memorable as such. It's a little like Brooks himself: a little under the radar for most.
"Albert Brooks: Defending My Life" recently premiered on HBO and is also streaming on Max, where I caught it last night. Whether you are a big fan of Albert Brooks, or simply just aware of him, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: Albert Brooks (ne Albert Einstein, no, really!) had a good run at in as a comedian and later actor-writer-director. But he never really made it into the stratosphere, commercially that is. For that his kind of humor and comedy was a bit too off-center. Chances are you can't name a single of the movies he directed (and usually starred in himself). Thar is not to knock the guy. It's just that, even though I certainly was aware who he was, he never became a giant. Can you name any movie off the top of your head that Brooks directed (and typically also starred in)? I couldn't, although watching this documentary some of them came back to me for sure. Turns out that plenty of big names including Sharon Stone, Larry David, James L Brooks, Conan O'Brien, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill, just to name those, feel differently and describe Brooks as groundbreaking. Or as one puts it: the "caviar of comedy". Ok then. But is the documentary itself any good? It certainly is entertaining. The hour and a half just flew by. But that doesn't make it truly memorable as such. It's a little like Brooks himself: a little under the radar for most.
"Albert Brooks: Defending My Life" recently premiered on HBO and is also streaming on Max, where I caught it last night. Whether you are a big fan of Albert Brooks, or simply just aware of him, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.