Danny Roane: First Time Director

Many years ago my roommate was laughing at a movie that he was watching and I asked him what it was. "Danny Roane First Time Director" was his answer. For days he was laughing about it. I didn't get a chance to see it for myself until several years later. At the time I saw it, Andy Dick was still regarded as funny and relevant. The truth about his hand in the situation that lead to Phil Hartman's murder was not as widely known as it is today.

Andy Dick today is a sad tortured man. It's like James Baldwin said: "People pay for who they are by the lives they lead." It's true for all of us, but especially true for Andy Dick. That being said, this movie would get a zero from me but there are a couple funny parts with the guy from RENT where he is questioning the safety of the equipment they are using and I am laughing just thinking about that part. There are some terrible parts in this movie that I wish I could unsee.

Andy Dick's fictional film within a film about a drunken comedian with a mediocre TV career attempting to make a movie about himself -- a drunken comedian with a mediocre TV career -- is astonishingly, one of the freshest, funniest movies I've seen in years. Even if you're no fan of the shtick you have seen Andy Dick do on TV and elsewhere, this movie catches you off guard with some of the most outrageously funny stuff I have ever seen. Similar to Borat in its honesty and fearlessness of taboos, this no holds barred hysterical perspective on indie film-making should not be missed. The cameos by numerous famous people are more than just cameos. They all have roles that add something funny and could only be played by that person. Watch for Bob Bancroft, the guy who used to play the evil head of the hospital on Chicago Hope, who is brilliant as Andy/Danny's Dad in this film.

The only reason I didn't get out of my seat and leave was because I was at the East Coast premiere and didn't want to be rude to Andy Dick.

There were a couple funny parts in the beginning of the movie, but that's about it.

You, yes YOU, could make a better movie just by using the video feature on your cell phone.

He admittedly had no storyboard, no plan at all of what direction the movie was going, or anything. It was just him making it up as he went along. And that is OK for a bunch of high-schoolers wasting time, but not for a theatrical release.

(Oh, and at the questions and answers forum after the screening, all Andy Dick did was make fun of everyone who asked a question...yes, he called a student a crack-head and another young woman fat).

Or, at least, think it's good. I did. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Deliberately bad 2 I don't want to see it 3 I didn't finish and or FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

Andy Dick's new movie doesn't truly feel like a movie. It wanders from scene to scene with Dick's often funny, unmistakable brand of humor. A lot of the jokes don't work, but there more laughs then you'd expect. To enjoy it, think of it more of an extended episode of "The Andy Dick Show". But an episode of his brilliant (but short lived) series this isn't, and as a movie it's pretty awful.

Dick's "mostly autobiographical" story follows the title character, a down-and-out former sitcom golden boy who is quickly slipping to the F list. We learn through a horribly filmed, lazily directed "News Radio" spoof that it is wasn't Andy/Danny's proudest career moment, even if it was of his most successful. With a muddled motivation, he puts together a movie about his substance abuse problems.

With this story, Dick able to make jibes at the industry and these are the best moments of the film. Starting with the untoppable "Late Night With Jimmy Kimmel" sequence and continuing with hilarious scenes ripping apart empty-headed execs, intense crew members and naive actors, Dick is able to stick it to the industry. He is also able to make fun of himself and his colleagues in the process (Ben Stiller, Jack Black, James Van Derbeek and more are all able to make fun of themselves in assorted scenes).

There's no doubt "Danny Roane" is filled with some great moments, but they are strung together with bad camera work, platitudinous scenes, and plenty of unoriginality. Not to mention none of it feels consistent or effectively planned out. Dick and producer/star Marshall Cook admit to not following many conventional film techniques, and it really hurts the film. It wouldn't be so much of the bother if the script wasn't such a banal rip off of "Bowfinger" and "Living In Oblivion".

With more work, higher talent in crew and a bigger budget, "Danny Roane: First Time Director" could have been a hit. As it is, it far too often descends to bomb territory and gets tired out too quickly. In all, it's a pretty awful debut, but that's not to say there's some laughs to be had.

Note: I attended the Northeast Premiere of this film, where Andy attended obviously drunk. Although I reviewed his film with as little bias as possible, he was disrespectful to even the fans in the audience. Seems pretty contradictory of the final words in the credits ("Thanks to my fans who stuck with me through the bad times.") It was hard to tell if Andy was really acting in this movie-and if he was intoxicated while shooting most of it. With his film, one can tell he's pretty jaded from the industry- but it seems he's jaded more so from himself.