Stuart sauve sa famille

Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) is a small public cable access show in Chicago. Julia (Laura San Giacomo) is one of his many sponsors. He is a follower of multiple 12 steps programs. After blowing up on his show, he gets kicked off of public access cable. Aunt Paula dies and Stuart has to go home to deal with his family. Donnie (Vincent D'Onofrio) is his irresponsible brother. Jodie (Lesley Boone) is his overwhelmed sister. Shirley Knight and Harris Yulin play their parents.

This needs a little bit of simplification. Stuart needs to go home and stay there until everything is solved. He should drag Julia along with him. I like Stuart. I really like Stuart. I'm not a superfan of Stuart in SNL but I watched it off and on. In this movie, he's actually an interesting character. It's not a silly little skit. I like him even more here. I like that he's actually helpful in this movie. Doggonit I like him.

That doesn't sound like an accomplishment, since the best SNL movies are probably "Blues Brothers" and "Wayne's World," and both are uneven. Furthermore, Stuart Smalley seems at first glance like one of the most obnoxious characters to base a movie around. He has characteristics that turn a lot of people off (effeminate, new agey, "caring"), but Franken shows that this veneer is painfully constructed over anger and hurt, and you end up actually liking him better the more time you spend with him. (The TV skits tend to just make fun of him.) One of the movie's most interesting scenes is between Franken and Laura San Giacomo when he tells her "I love you." In any other Hollywood movie, this would be a romantic-interest scene, because everyone knows you can't have a male and female star in a movie without their getting together. Well, here it's that incredibly rare thing: a scene of genuine friendship and support, with Stuart's sexuality left out of the question. To me, that's more impressive than if they got into a liplock.

Movies inspired by SNL characters seem to have a consistently bad reputation. But that reputation is usually based on the fact that the films failed at the box office. The truth is, they are good solid comedies that were never meant to be blockbusters. 'Stuart Saves His Family' is just such a film.

This film has a cast of excellent actors who portray tragedy and comedy with sublime skill. The script is heartfelt and funny. There is no mockery of recovery programs or the self-help movement. Instead, 'Stuart Saves His Family' evokes the all too real humor amid the tragedy that comes from being part of a dysfunctional family (and world).

AL Franken's deadpan deliver of Stuart's ridiculous, but charming self is the the heart of the movie. But equally good are Piper Laurie, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lesley Boone & Harris Yulin. All four play characters who could easily descend into shrill, two-dimensional background support to the wacky lead character. Thankfully, the actors all bring out the human beings inside their characters.

The message about finding your own definition of happiness and family is another of the movie's strong points.

I also recommend "Superstar", another SNL character driven movie, starring Molly Shannon. She's an excellent actress with a wicked, silly streak.

I was channel-surfing one afternoon and "Stuart Saves His Family" was on HBO. Being a bit of a masochist, I thought I'd stay and see how embarrassingly bad it was going to be (as most SNL-character-inspired movies are) and was pleasantly surprised. Anyone who is or knows someone who is in any of the 12-step programs will appreciate this movie and show it to all your friends. It has a stellar cast and Al Franken is an underrated genius.

I don't know how funny this movie is to people who aren't involved in 12-step programs or don't know anyone who is. But to this 12-stepper, the movie is hilarious. Al Franken and crew seem to walk the narrow line between poking fun at the 12-step movement while also appreciating its good points. Lots of in-jokes here, and some very funny ones. I bought the home video version and have watched it several times. Al Franken, Laura San Giacomo, Shirley Knight, Julia Sweeney are all very good.