Call Me Lucky

3/15/18. Wow, what a biopic! Never heard of him but now that I have watched this I will never forget him. A caustic, sarcastic comedian who had a good reason for being that way - he was sexually abused when he was a small child. Eventually he took all that energy and channeled it into activism against Internet child porn. More than anything he raised awareness of how prevalent child molestation is, and it's scary. Parents, protect your children!

Barry Crimmins is not a well-known comedian outside of Boston and New York. But he is a legend among comics, including many legendary comics. His highly intelligent and hard-charging style, lashing out at greedy and inhumane politics, puts him in the ranks of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Bill Hicks. He also helped mentor a roster of comics like Denis Leary, Stephen Wright, Tom Kenny, Paula Poundstone, and Lenny Clarke. He also mentored Bobcat Goldthwait, who directs this simple yet emotionally packed biography that explains not only who Crimmins is, but how he came to be. This is not a "how did he get to be so funny?" or "the greatest (blank) you've never heard of" fluff piece. This is a very gritty, sometimes very dark look at the horrors Crimmins endured as a child, and how he turned his suffering into a lifelong mission to help those victimized by man's inhumanity to man. His compassion permeates his actions, even as he takes the microphone at a Senate hearing on child pornography and uses it to (figuratively) beat a suit from AOL into submission. The result is an emotional wringer that will take you from belly laughs to gut-punched. See this film.

At the risk of sounding cynical, the fact that this was made before Barry Crimmins' death makes the testimonies more credible, in a way. People are celebrating and stating the importance of this man, and it's not because he's passed away and because you "have" to be respectful to the dead. Of course not all interviewees in documentaries about the dead are lying or embellishing, but it's something that's often on my mind when I watch them.

Anyway, this is a very good documentary with one possible downside: I felt a little strange about Crimmins' abuse as a child being a plot twist of sorts, at least at first. It seemed a little tacky to build suspense to this "revelation" through showing snippets of interviews with his sister. In the end it works, and it does lend the second half of the film a sense of power and emotion, but maybe other survivors of abuse would want to know the documentary is going to cover that stuff beforehand. I think it's a good approach for viewers who aren't victims of childhood abuse, to jolt their systems and make it more impactful, but there is a chance this sudden shift at the halfway point could prove difficult and too confrontational for people who have survived abuse and don't know it's coming within the documentary.

In this case, the somewhat comparable halfway plot shift in Goldthwait's excellent World's Greatest Dad probably works a bit better, thanks to the story being fictional.

The story follows the life and career of comedian Barry Crimmins through the comedy scene of the 1980's. It showcases his signature style and approach to comedy, while also diving into his personal life and demons he had to overcome since his early childhood. It is an incredible story of growth, survival and the strength of the human spirit.

The night after the live show that was filmed for this documentary, we all woke up to the news that Robin Williams, the best friend of director Bobcat Goldthwait, had died from suicide. I heard in interviews that Robin had considered playing the lead role if this story had been done dramatically. That came to mind a few times while watching and I could see why the character would have appealed to him.

It's about Barry Crimmins, one of the main personalities behind the launch of many Boston comics' careers, but comedy seems incidental to the work he does as years pass and perspective deepens. I don't know when I first became aware of him. I know I heard Steven Wright mumble his name somewhere way back, but I looked more closely after hearing Barry interviewed by Marc Maron on his WTF podcast. Barry Crimmins personally confronts some of the purest evil mankind perpetrates on itself and tried to prevent much of the damage that continues to be done in the name of profit. While doing that, he helped nurture a conscientious brand of comedy that continues to bring out unique voices.