The Opening Act

Well, the 2020 movie about working in the stand-up comedy scene actually turned out to be better than I had anticipated that it would. I sat down to watch "The Opening Act" without really knowing what the plot was, nor had I actually heard about the movie prior to watching it. But I was given the chance to sit down and watch it, so of course I did.

Sure, the storyline was sort of predictable and very straight forward, but it proved to be enjoyable enough. It is not something that will revolutionize the comedy genre, by no means. But it turned out to be adequately entertaining. However, it was the acting performances that made the movie rise up and out of mediocrity.

For a movie that has the likes of Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Burr, Iliza Shlesinger and Ken Jeong on the cast list, then the movie was actually phenomenally carried by lead actor Jimmy O. Yang. He really performed quite well and rather believably as well. The way those awkward scenes where he bummed out on the scenes were just cringeworthy to watch, and he pulled those off phenomenally well. This was definitely his movie for the most parts.

"The Opening Act" has a good mixture of both comedy and a good storyline at heart, so there is a little bit of something for just about everyone sitting down to watch it I think. There are some good jokes in the movie and definitely some good performances.

This is, however, unfortunately not a movie that I believe has the contents to support more than a single viewing. Don't get me wrong here, because the story was good and the movie was entertaining, but the plot just doesn't really offer enough to carry more than a single viewing.

My rating of "The Opening Act" is a six out of ten stars.

Simple, funny and overall entertaining; "The Opening Act" does a great job at offering viewers an inside look at stand-up comedy thanks to writer/director Steve Byrne's personal approach.

In this comedy, an open mic comic is given the opportunity to emcee a comedy show opening for his comedic hero, but must decide if he wants to continue the life set-up for him or follow his dream.

I loved this film. Not only do things look promising for lead actor Jimmy Yang, but comedian/writer/director Steve Byrne hits a home run. The way the movie is shot and the way it unfolds, you can clearly see how Byrne wanted "The Opening Act" to be different than other films about stand-up comedy and how much heart he put into it. The supporting cast is terrific and overall a feel-good film. If you love comedy, you'll love "The Opening Act".

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The story has an interesting idea, but is executed very poorly... slow and akward pacing makes the movie very boring. You see very early on that the director and comedian Steve Byrne has not much experience in directing and tries his best to put his personal experience with stand up on the screen. It has some funny jokes and the right message, but lacks in skill set. The acting of the most actors are terrible (and i am huge stand up fan and know all the comedians). The dialog scenes are little off and delivered poorly.

I follow most comedians and their podcasts and was happy to see many known faces but it makes it even more dissapointing to see them in a bad movie.

I loved The Opening Act, it's so funny :D one of the best comedy movies ever!!! It has (like many movies) a message, that it's best to tell the truth, but above all it was very funny. This movie is absolutely hilarious!

It's refreshing to see different genres that Asian performers are involved in. A light hearted comedy and tolerable to watch through, with appearances of Ken Jeong and Cedric the Entertainer. Try it.