Dean - Wie das Leben eben spielt

Dimitri Martin writes, directs, and stars here as Dean, who is an illustrator and writer trying to cope with the recent loss of his mother. He's also struggling in his relationship with his father Robert (Kevin Kline), who is also finding his own ways of grieving his loss.

With work on his next book blocked by his sadness, Dean decides to travel from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to meet with a dot.com ad agency who have expressed interest in his drawings. While there, Dean will hook up with some old friends like Eric (Rory Scovel) and Becca (Briga Heelan), as well as meeting a new woman Nicky (Gillian Jacobs).I thought the scenes with his friends and Nicky worked well and were often heartfelt and humorous. However, other parts of this movie seemed awkward and flat, so a mixed bag overall.

All in all, I thought this rather quirky and oddball dramedy, employing lots of deadpan humor, was only partially successful.

Don't know if this really happen to star writer and director Demetri Martin but it does feels personal and a very real processes of grieving.

What is it with Gillian Jacobs' being cast to be the girlfriend of these awkward guys? Guess that's her thing (I'm just assuming based on her role in Love on Netflix).

Not enough Kevin Kline in this movie and that's a shame. Not into romantic comedies but I would love to see one if Kevin Kline is playing a man looking for love. The both times I recall him doing it (including this one) have him doing some really good acting. Charming and expressive, It felt like he was really into the woman he was courting. Then again, I'm sure it's not hard to fall in love with Mary Steenburgen (Who was in the Last movie I saw Kline get romantic in, Last Vegas)

It reminds me of Nebraska but not as good. Just in the concept that those who can relate to the material would like it more.

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'DEAN': Three Stars (Out of Five)

An indie comedy-drama written and directed by actor Demetri Martin, who also stars in the film. Martin plays a Brooklyn cartoon artist (he also did all of the illustrations for the movie) named Dean, who recently lost his mother and broke up with his fiancé. The film costars Kevin Kline,Gillian Jacobs, Rory Scovel, Mary Steenburgen and Reid Scott. It's gotten mostly positive reviews from critics, and it won Best Narrative Feature at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, but it also underperformed at the indie Box Office. I found it to be slightly amusing, but not nearly as emotional as it seems to think it is.

Dean (Martin) is a published cartoon artist who lives in Brooklyn and recently lost his mother. He's having difficulty dealing with her passing, as is his father, Robert (Kline), who's also having trouble adjusting to living alone. Dean was engaged to be married, to Michelle (Christine Woods), but after his mom died, things didn't work out. He performs very poorly in his best friend Brett's (Scott) wedding, as a 'second best man', and then travels to Los Angeles to meet with some ad executives about using his art. He meets a woman, named Nicky (Jacobs), at a Los Angeles party there, and starts to fall for her. The whole time he still tries to cope with his mother's passing, deal with his recent breakup, and try to convince his dad not to sell their family home.

The movie has all of the ingredients of a well made (and emotional) comedy drama, but it feels like it's just going through all of the motions of one (to me). I think I'm a pretty big sucker for emotional dramas, but this one didn't really make me feel that much. It's slightly funny, and it's filled with sad characters, but it doesn't feel like a complete movie to me. I think Martin probably has some decent talent, as an actor and filmmaker, but he kind of misses the mark here (in my opinion).

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Seen at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. Written and directed by Demitri Martin, with a nice role for Kevin Kline. A nice mixture of laugh-out-loud humor, but also a surprising melancholy pervades throughout the film. Martin's very clever drawings take a central role in the movie, too. This is a story that isn't new or groundbreaking, but Martin infuses it with his own wit and wisdom, and the results are a very enjoyable and thoughtful first feature. Highly recommended.

First of all, writing, directing and starring in a project is never too easy even if you're surrounded by such talented group of people. Yet, Demitri Martin handles it really good and brings a really beautiful tone to this movie. Even though, it is actually a very personal story it does not alienates you and tells it with such warm and realistic way. The one most stood out was how the illustrations summed up the some of the scenes or how used as an interlude between ones. Totally recommend this beautiful and highly relatable story!