And Everything Is Going Fine

A mind like Spalding Gray's was full of inquiry, mostly into himself. This was more than alright as by the looks of And Everything is Going Fine he was a master storyteller and orator. He originally wanted to be an actor and trained in that for many years (eventually getting lackluster parts on off-Broadway and, even at one point, a porno role). But his best role in his life was... himself really, as Steven Soderbergh takes to task with a multitude of video clips, interviews and little asides like one he had with his father in the 90's. He could be incredibly neurotic, and had a family with a history of suicide and mental illness and depression, but he someone made his sad lemons into bittersweet lemonade. His monologues were full of life and humor, little details and observations like in the best prose. In a sense this makes And Everything's Going Fine a movie where talk and stories takes us to other places and situations (it may not be an accident that one of Gray's big influences was Andrew Gregory of My Dinner With Andre).

We get to see the full nature of the man, of at least as much as could be seen in interview clips (albeit Gray is nothing but candid even with a guy from E! News), stemming from a home life that would have been normal if not for his overbearing and crazy mother who left him all too early from life. And along with the acting bug that hit him we also get told his time spent in India, and his sort of search to "find" himself, leading up to the monologues that he started to do in 1979. It was almost like an experiment in self-expression, and if he wasn't as funny as a Woody Allen New York style guy he had much more candor. Eventually we also hear about his love life, and the ups and downs of his relationship that led to him leaving her for his wife and son after a revelation eight months into the little guy's life.

Soderbergh is generous to Gray, his legacy and his attitude towards life and himself which wasn't always pretty. Maybe he understood how far to go with the footage- apparently he didn't show his much darker mood after his sudden accident that led to his suicide in 2004. But at the same time that this is a 'character' study, and that character being Mr. Spalding Gray, it's also an epic story of a life (he calls himself a method actor in a way, which caused some problems as the monologues went on and on and Q&A's had to be done with the audience). Some of Gray's points may be redundant after a while- we get it, you're a depressive, you have mother issues, woman issues, are a little crazy but have a good sense of humor about it- but I never got tired of hearing what he would say next, and always with eloquence and intelligence. Gray was the kind of guy whose mind was always moving and it looked like he was thinking as he answered questions even as he talked so fast. He was one of a kind, and this is a fine, personal tribute.

And Everything Is Going Fine (2010) is a documentary movie directed by Steven Soderbergh and it's all about Spalding Gray giving a monologue. Now while that is interesting, this documentary movie didn't do it for me.

Positives for And Everything Is Going Fine (2010): Spalding Gray does a great job with his monologue. This movie is definitely made for people who love Spalding Gray. That's all I've got to say for the positives.

Negatives for And Everything Is Going Fine (2010): This movie wasn't interesting at all. I found the overly long monologue badly paced. I didn't care to listen to almost anything Spalding Gray was talking about.

Overall, And Everything Is Going Fine (2010) is certainly a movie that will please Spalding Gray fans, I'm just not one of them.

I used to love watching Spalding Gray tell stories .. a true art in itself

Actor Spalding Gray tells stories through a series of monologue. Director Steven Soderbergh splices together the various segments to create a vision of a man's life through his own words. Spalding is most famous as an actor whose biggest movie is probably 'The Killing Fields'. This is a fascinating experience like sitting in front of the man listening intently at the story teller. It's confessional. It's personal. It's sometimes funny, some shocking, and just a lot of little personal recollections. There is a lot of footage from his one person play. The disembodied laughter is a little bit strange since it depends on which footage is being used. Some footage is just an interview. I have a feeling that the play is a lot more mesmerizing. The movie runs on and on switching from one performance to another to an interview. It feels like a run-on sentence. There are some undeniable laughs. Sometimes I miss some of the laughs from the audiences. It's like I'm missing a comedic beat or some obscure reference.

I wonder if it would be better to have a straight uncut film of the plays. A film that takes in Spalding's pace could allow the stories to hit better. Let's pause for effect. Let's have a break for the audience. The monotone pacing tested my patience after 30 minutes. Of course, a theater performance transferred directly to film almost never works except for comedy specials. This is sorta like that. Then again it isn't. The pacing could be too slow for movie audiences. This is an interesting attempt, but it didn't all work for me.

A look at the art of Spalding Gray who drew from real life experience to create a compelling and deeply personal series of monologues.

I freely admit I did not know Spalding Gray going in to this. I may have seen him in one or two things (such as "The Killing Fields"), but really had no idea who he was or why he was important (if, indeed, he was).

This was excellent, a documentary that works for fans and novices alike. From humorous anecdotes of his childhood to a tale of a homosexual encounter in Greece, we get to know Gray and all his foibles -- no apologies are offered and no sympathy is sought. Love him or hate him, this is the man in his whole.