Standing Up, Falling Down

This is not a fast-paced movie. Don't watch it after a Marvel movie.

What it is: It has heart, it feels real. The people are likeable. I am becoming a cynic, over the years, many movies fail to engage me like they should (looking at you, Dunkirk). But this one did not.

And yes, I checked my phone once or twice. Who cares.

I'm not one who usually goes for the comedy/drama type movies, but I am so glad I sat down and watched this. There cannot be a human being alive that is unable to relate to something in this movie, in a personal way.

The acting was spot on, not too much or too little of anything. All the actors, fit just right. There's no hurrying the storyline, it just flows. I found myself relating and reflecting to so much of the story and it was a good feeling.

In short, you need to see this. Don't be in a hurry to do anything while you watch it. Take the 90 minutes and let yourself be whoever it is you relate to in this film. The ending tied everything together in a nice comfortable way.

Buy it, rent it, download it, whatever. Just watch it.

A failed 30-something comedian commiserates with a regretful 60-something dermatologist. Hi-jinks and Friendship ensue: the comedic drama, old-fashioned style- tried and true themes of failure, regret, the search for redemption, finding it where you least expect it, etc. Pedestrian and cliche? Slight and minor? If you say so, but what if the movie's good? "Standing Up, Falling Down" knows what it is and stays within it's wheelhouse- you're drawn in without really expecting it because it feels human in that uniquely cinematic way. It's also buoyed by great chemistry between its leads. Ben Schwartz, mostly known for his more over-the-top comedic performances, plays it closer to the vest here, almost the straight man to Billy Crystal, who, while not really being a dramatic actor, pulls off his role with aplomb. It's nice to see a movie like this sneak in behind enemy lines- one that wears its heart on its sleeve without being maudlin or cynically pandering to some kind of denominator. It's a movie that's quietly profound- sure, kind of in a bumper sticker way, but you don't go to the movies to watch filmed philosophical treatises. I ended the film with a smile in my heart- that's gotta be worth something...

Drama and comedy, not the ideal mix if you ask me, as most of the time there is more drama than comedy and that's also the case in Standing Up, Falling Down. That said I thought this movie wasn't that bad, I didn't laugh much, but the story is strange enough enjoyable to watch. It's just about different people trying to get their life back on the right track. It's rather sad than funny. The acting of Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz was good and that made it worth watching. I mostly knew Schwartz as Jean-Ralphio from the American comedy TV series Parks and Recreation where he played a rather annoying character but in this movie he proves he can play something different. As a drama this movie works, not so much as a comedy, but that's only my opinion. Goodenough for a one time viewing.

By all means it should be a 70 tops, but it has heart, a great chemistry between the characters and good balance between drama and comedy. Ben Schwartz is great here but Billy Crystal really steals the show.