I'll come straight out with it: This is my favourite film of all time.
Albert Brooks is consistently the finest Writer, Director and Actor when it comes to the character driven comedy. And this is his finest moment.
Robert Cole (Brooks) is a middle-aged, neurotic film editor, who continually breaks up and rekindles his relationship with Mary Harvard (Kathryn Harold).
The film opens with a typically Brooksesk scene in a restaurant when he informs his girlfriend that things aren't working out. It is, perhaps, a measure of just how funny Brooks is that he even manages to be funny ordering an omelette; not intentionally, but funny nevertheless.
What follows is the most brutal portrayal of what being insecure and neurotic can really do to you, and the empathy I experienced for Brooks' character is possibly unmatched by any other.
I can appreciate that non-fans of Albert's might not fully appreciate this film - because it is so unashamedly Brooks - but I think most people will find something here to laugh-out-loud to, I know I laughed all the way through, and still do after dozens of replays.
Make no mistake, watch this film today, and start to appreciate a genius who is under appreciated. Long live Albert.
Albert Brooks is consistently the finest Writer, Director and Actor when it comes to the character driven comedy. And this is his finest moment.
Robert Cole (Brooks) is a middle-aged, neurotic film editor, who continually breaks up and rekindles his relationship with Mary Harvard (Kathryn Harold).
The film opens with a typically Brooksesk scene in a restaurant when he informs his girlfriend that things aren't working out. It is, perhaps, a measure of just how funny Brooks is that he even manages to be funny ordering an omelette; not intentionally, but funny nevertheless.
What follows is the most brutal portrayal of what being insecure and neurotic can really do to you, and the empathy I experienced for Brooks' character is possibly unmatched by any other.
I can appreciate that non-fans of Albert's might not fully appreciate this film - because it is so unashamedly Brooks - but I think most people will find something here to laugh-out-loud to, I know I laughed all the way through, and still do after dozens of replays.
Make no mistake, watch this film today, and start to appreciate a genius who is under appreciated. Long live Albert.