Dealin' with Idiots

I watched this flick because I recently saw Handsome, which wasnt bad. But Idiots was just......bad. The best thing about it was the credits.

Jeff Garlin's film directorial debut I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (the only reason I say "film" is because he directed John Waters' special This Filthy World in 2006) is a comedy gem I can't help but watch every time I catch it on TV, regardless of what point it is at. There's something about that film, be it the naturalistic dialog, the spry, offbeat relationship Garlin and Sarah Silverman manage to create and withstand for eighty minutes, or the way scenes start and end and pick up the awkwardness of daily life, that keeps me coming back.

Garlin's sophomore film effort, Dealin' With Idiots, will have me doing the same. This is an outrageously funny, often heartbreakingly realistic look at the baffling and lame-brained obsession many parents have with their child's performance in little league baseball. Garlin plays Max Morris, a standup comedian whose kid is enrolled in the local little league team coached by Coach Jim (J.B. Smoove, one of the funniest men in film). Max is dumbfounded by the great lengths parents go to show support and love for their children, but is even more hateful towards how seriously many of them take the game.

When the idea of making a film centered around the eccentricities of the game goes through his head, he winds up staging meetups and interviews with the parents there in order to get acquainted with their lives. Those involve the well-meaning but oppressive man (Richard Kind), his goody two-shoes wife (Jami Gertz), a chic lesbian couple (Gina Gershon and Kerri Kenney-Silver), a rich-guy wannabe (Fred Willard), and several others.

Max's reality is often interrupted (usually during a little league game) by his father (Timothy Olymphant), who transports him to a sharper, darkly-colored version of his current setting to give Max parenting advice or encouragement in his life. While this may seem abrupt, it does provide a more personal, sentimental side to the character at the center of this madness.

Garlin has always been one to assemble a fine cast of people, many of whom are amateurs or lesser known in the field of film. Here, Garlin recruits some of the strongest people I've seen in an indie film in quite sometime. Just the inclusion of the wonderful actresses Jami Gertz and Kerri Kenney-Silver make this feel like a meager but satisfying reunion of the underrated sitcom Still Standing. Not to mention, Bob Odenkirk and J.B. Smoove (who co-starred with Garlin on the work of television brilliance that is Curb Your Enthusiasm) do some great work as the coaches of the little league games, Richard Kind and Fred Willard are always fun to watch, and even faces like Pat Finn and Natasha Leggero turn up to evoke some surprising comedy when necessary.

Not only does Garlin infuse Dealin' With Idiots' promise with great character actors, but he makes fine use of them thanks to a nicely-compiled script (co-written by Peter Murrieta). Perhaps it's from using his improving skills on Curb Your Enthusiasm with close-friend and co-star Larry David and Second City, but Garlin smoothly recreates the same kind of conversational beauty and realism those two works have and marvelously concocts a script that is simultaneously human and exploratory of different mindsets. Often I think this is how the cast would interact with each other when the cameras weren't rolling. The film hesitates not to explore the different lifestyles of the characters here, which is a huge step in the right direction for this kind of a film, being as tricky as that is. Thrown in some tremendous suburban cinematography and hilariously unpredictable scenes and you have another film I'll delay my schedule for to watch again.

The thought of making a comedy centered around little league is one that sets itself up for many, many a joke to be made and this film does justice to its world. Garlin captures this obscure sector of suburban passtime with a sense of personal belonging and unpretentious craft that makes Dealin' With Idiots much more competent on the level of independent comedy. Garlin feels like he was either once a part of this world or is at least wholly familiar with it, judging by the realistic way he writes all the characters and the events that unfold on the diamond. It's almost as baffling how well this film works as a whole as it is watching the people who are hellbent on showing their involvement for something as silly and superfluous as little league baseball.

Starring: Jeff Garlin, Jami Gertz, Richard Kind, Fred Willard, Timothy Olyphant, Bob Odenkirk, J.B. Smoove, Pat Finn, Gina Gershon, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Natasha Leggero. Directed by: Jeff Garlin.

Comedian Max Morris (Jeff Garlin) brings his son Max to play in little league baseball. Max isn't good. Ava (Nia Vardalos) is his wife. He has imaginary conversations with his father (Timothy Olyphant). He decides to research the wacky parents who come to the games for a possible movie. Coach Jimbo (Bob Odenkirk) owns a print shop. Coach Ted (J.B. Smoove) lives next to weird neighbors Jessica (Natasha Leggero), Jackie the Chocolatier, Freddy, and Big Time Sara. Angela (Hope Dworaczyk Smith) is a hot nanny for one of the kids. Harold (Richard Kind) is married to Rosie (Jami Gertz) who is obsessed with the game snacks. Hezekiah (Steve Agee) is obsessed with the game and possibly making his own movie. Caitlin (Kerri Kenney) and Sophie (Gina Gershon) are the lesbian couple. Marty (Fred Willard) is the divorced money man who is secretly without any money.

Jeff Garlin has gathered a big cast of fun comedic talents to use in this rambling comedy. It's a lot of wacky characters in the world of little league baseball. There isn't anything tremendous but this cast is bound to get a couple of chuckles. There isn't much of a story. These aren't the Bad News Bears. The kids are mostly decorations and aren't actual characters.

Not the most perfect movie and doesn't aspire to be. However it is unique in the sense that the comedy doesn't come from situations but from the interactions between the characters. The movie is about a comedy writer interviewing little league suburbanite parents who each seem to be suffering from a distinct and hilarious personality disorder. Each of the suburbanites are played by top notch comedian whom I've seen in other roles and have enjoyed. Ironically Garlin plays the straight man to the wacky cast of characters he's forced to deal with.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the film had a lack of an ending. However, despite that fact, it didn't take away from the ride, and during that ride you knew you were experiencing something unique anyway. Uniqueness is what I feel like is missing from most movies and in that, this film delivers. A hidden gem and worth a watch, I look forward to more from Jeff Garlin.

"They're all offended by everything!?" Is a line from the hero's wife that sums up, in my opinion, the nature of the story. She says this after one of many encounters with the living breathing examples that we all bounce off of daily, of what happens when people lose their connection to humanity and replaced it with a death-grip on their own delusions(The coaches wife is my favorite/most hated example).

Jeff Garlin is genius in illustrating the everyday 'idiotics' that we all either encounter or contribute to depending on whatever determines that. I'll be on the lookout from now on for more of his work.

Even the 'fatherly' scenes that would have been left out of 95% of the genres scripts added so much depth to interactions and understanding of the star. I didn't expect that and it made things even more real and moved in between the scenes that I was laughing.

Like Idiocracy, somehow this movie escaped the radar of the masses and it's a damn tragedy, if for no other reason but I'd like to think those of us that agree with the premise of it aren't in the minority...Oh well some are born tall, some short, some smart, ...

Oh and as a bonus the casting took this movie from poignant and funny as hell to a world-class comedy experience. When you cast a movie from top to bottom with stars that can make you cry with laughter, your bound to strike gold.

Great movie!