“Standing Up, Falling Down”– Movie Review

At the start of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, I attended the World Premiere of the new comedy-drama, “Standing Up, Falling Down”, starring Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz. 

Synopsis

When a struggling comedian returns to his hometown, will a chance friendship with an older man help to rejuvenate his career?

Story

For the past four years, Scott (Schwartz) has been living in Los Angeles trying to break into show business as a stand-up comedian.  He’s found it tough going, to put it mildly, and decides to return home to Long Island, New York.  He’ll have to live with his parents – at least temporarily, anyway.  Scott’s new plan is to try to reinvigorate his career as a stand-up, despite the fact that his family isn’t terribly supportive of his aspiration; his father believes that since Scott’s now in his early 30’s, he should pursue something more stable.

While hanging out at a bar one night, Scott meets Marty (Crystal), a local dermatologist – surprising, given his current state of inebriation.  Scott makes an appointment with Marty, who treats him for a case of stress hives.  During the visit, the two seem to hit if off quite well and they start to spend quite a good deal of time with each other.  During this period, they share a great deal of personal information:  Scott, for example, admits to anxiety over his professional life and that he’s still pining over his ex-girlfriend, Becky; Marty talks longingly about his two late wives and both of his adult offspring, from whom he’s been estranged. 

After a few successful appearances at nearby clubs, Scott begins to get encouragement about his now-burgeoning comedy career.  Full of confidence, he decides to pursue Becky, who married another man after Scott left for California.  Marty, who’s dealing with a recurrence of alcohol abuse, decides to repair his relationship with both his son and daughter; they grew increasingly distant upon their mother’s suicide, which they blamed on Marty’s alcohol use as well as him having an affair with another woman.  Will the friendship that Scott and Marty forged prove to propel them in their personal life?  

Review

Over the years, it has been rare that many (or any) of the films that play The Tribeca Film Festival actually find a path to distribution.  “Standing Up, Falling Down” may actually turn out to be the exception.  This is not merely because of the the involvement of Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz but also because it is a rather pleasant movie.  While having many serious moments, there are quite funny ones, too – most notably the scenes between Crystal and Schwartz where they are provided the opportunity to comedically riff off of each other to great result. 

By no means is “Standing Up, Falling Down” perfect.  The story reaches a point where it challenges your suspension of disbelief; that is the point at which the audience is expected to buy into the fact that Scott’s ex-girlfriend, Becky (played by Eloise Mumford), remains stuck on him despite her marrying a much more handsome man after Scott left her to pursue his comedy career in Los Angeles.  What it was she saw in him in the first place is difficult to understand, especially since Becky is so good looking it’s hard to grasp why she was attracted to him.  

Following the screening, there was a question and answer session with director Matt Ratner, screenwriter Peter Hoare and stars Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz.  The movie was shot in only three days – due in part to its infinitesimal budget (Crystal seemed to suggest it was under a million dollars).  There is a scene that was shot in a temple, which Crystal claimed was the same one he attended as a child.  He said that his character presented something of a challenge for him because Marty was a complicated man and the role itself was a combination of humor and pathos.  Crystal added that he liked the script because it was reminiscent of his film, “Mr. Saturday Night”, which was one of his favorites.