Real Life (1979)

A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their everyday lives, in the manner of the ground-breaking PBS series "An American Family". However, ... See full summary »

Director:

Albert Brooks

Writers:

Albert Brooks, Monica Mcgowan Johnson,

Stars:

Dick Haynes, Albert Brooks, Matthew Tobin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dick Haynes	...	Councilman Harris
Albert Brooks	...	Albert Brooks
Matthew Tobin	...	Dr. Howard Hill
J.A. Preston	...	Dr. Ted Cleary
Joseph Schaffler	...	Paul Lowell
Phyllis Quinn	...	Donna Stanley
James Ritz	...	Jack from Cincinnati
Clifford Einstein	...	Role Reversal Family Member
Harry Einstein	...	Role Reversal Family Member
Mandy Einstein	...	Role Reversal Family Member
Karen Einstein	...	Role Reversal Family Member
James L. Brooks	...	Driving Evaluator
Zeke Manners	...	Driver
Charles Grodin	...	Warren Yeager
Frances Lee McCain	...	Jeannette Yeager

Storyline

A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their everyday lives, in the manner of the ground-breaking PBS series "An American Family". However, instead of remaining unobtrusive and letting the family be themselves, he can't keep himself from trying to control every facet of their lives "for the good of the show".

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Plot Keywords:

documentary crew | husband wife relationship | actor playing himself | family relationships | spoof | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aus dem Leben gegriffen

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles H. Reid, who plays the assistant surgeon, was a real veterinarian who provided the horse that appears in the film.

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Quotes

Albert Brooks: [showing off a high-tech camera to be used in filming] Only six of these cameras were ever made. Only five of them ever worked. We have four of those.

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Connections

Spoofs An American Family (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Jump Into The Fire"
Written by Harry Nilsson

User Reviews

Albert the Great

There's no question that Albert Brooks is not for everybody - his particular blend of neuroticism and egomania can be way too much for most people. But if you can get on his wavelength, and when he's at his best - oh man! There's absolutely no one better. Real Life is Brooks' best movie, and deserves to be more widely known than it is. His portrayal of a controlling producer, who is willing to violate not only broadcast ethics but the standards of decency and good sense as well in order to inject life into his failing "documentary" is frightening, off-putting and truly hilarious all at once.

When I first saw this movie, I didn't realize it was based on an actual television experiment. I bring this up only because when I first saw the film, I felt its only flaw was that it didn't spend enough time showing the family and their disintegration in front of the cameras, choosing instead to focus almost exclusively on Brooks and his manic responses to the dilemma this posed. However, knowing that the real life experiment would have already been familiar to people, Brooks clearly wanted to use this movie to examine not the family but the bankrupt commercial mindset which would put such a project into play in the first place. As such, his satire is dead on and nobody could more perfectly embody the entertainment industry than Brooks himself. Just to see him smarmily singing and glad-handing at the beginning is worth the cost.