Looking for Lenny

What is freedom of speech and how far can we go, pushing the envelope? These and many other questions is what director Elan Gale is trying to discuss and at same time do an documentary about Lenny Bruce. Unfortunately he fails at both mainly because of lack of focus, and also because others have done it better in the genre of documentaries.

Elan Gale gives hardly any info about the man, Lenny Bruce, nor does he explain what really drove Bruce to become one of the most beloved(and controversial) comics of our time.

When looking at other documentaries about controversial comedians like Bill Hicks (see American: The Bill Hicks Story 2009)we got a better understanding of the man and his legacy.

In Looking for Lenny (2011)we understand his importance but it is somewhat confusing exactly what he did and why he did it. We get lots of funny anecdotes but not many are relevant to what the film is trying to discuss.

When it comes to the discussion of freedom of speech the film fails to deliver again, since there are more interesting, nuanced documentaries about the subject. For example: Fück (2005), Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009)and also above mentioned American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)

But as an introduction to Lenny Bruce's comedy and legacy it is OK, and the following discussion about freedom of speech, political correctness etc this film serves it's purpose.

However, it should been so much better. Ironically, while trying to write this review, IMDb would not let me use the proper title for one of my film suggestions....which makes this films subject and other films like it so very important.

Looking for Lenny (2011)

*** (out of 4)

Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Roseanne, Christopher Titus, Kitty Bruce, Phyliss Diller, Elon Gold, Jonathan Winters, Hugh Hefner, Lewis Black, Jon Lovitz, Henry Rollins and Lisa Lampanelli are just a few of the famous names who show up in this documentary that takes a look at the controversial comic Lenny Bruce. For the most part this is an entertaining documentary but it is rather shocking to think how important Bruce was yet there really hasn't been too much done on him. The interviews here are all pretty good as the current group of comedians talk about what Bruce did for their profession while we also get interviews from those who knew and worked with Bruce and they're able to shine some light on his life. The documentary spends most of its time on Bruce dealing with the various controversial subjects including race and religion. We get several clips from Bruce appearing on The Steven Allen Show and there's also some audio recordings of his concerts. Also, we get to see some newspaper articles about the various times he was arrested and taken to court on obscenity charges. The documentary uses Bruce's message to speak out against political correctness and this is where the thing gets a tad bit uneven because Michael Richards and Don Imus are discussed and what their rants meant to what Bruce was fighting for. I personally would have preferred more talk about Bruce because there's really very little that we get to know about him outside of the controversy and of course his early death. Another strange thing is that the 70-minute documentary "ends" at the 55-minute mark when the credits start to roll but for some reason the movie then goes on another fifteen-minutes with more interviews. The entire time the credits are rolling at a very, very slow pace, which gets quite annoying after a while. Still, this is a fairly interesting documentary that's still worth viewing if you're a fan of Bruce or just want to hear some of his life story.

Looking for Lenny is an in-depth, controversial documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression.

It also tackles the issue of new limitations that the government and society are placing upon freedom of expression in the artistic and political discourse.

It speaks directly to recent attempts by political figures to instill fear into American society by labeling, manipulating, and inflaming people's fear of the spoken word.

If Bruce had a hard time fitting in to his time and place, he's survive even less today with al this ridiculous political correctness.

It's an OK doc. Not great but there are some neat clips that I've not seen before.

At my age and knowing enough about Lenny Bruce and the history of Stand up and what it takes to be recognizable, Bruce is a hero. This Doc. Said more than i expected and will rewatch in case some dialogue was missed. XLENT.

Lenny Bruce died too soon from a drug overdose at his home in Hollywood. Before his death, he raised the bar on comedy to include profanity. Before there was Richard Pryor or George Carlin, there was Lenny Bruce who pushed the boundaries and raised the bar. Lenny still influenced newer generations of comedians. Lenny Bruce was a comedic with a sharp wit and intelligence. His profanity and vulgarity attracted trouble. He fought for free speech. He was a pioneer for many comedians and others. He fought the system. Sadly he died too young. He had quite a life. Interviews included friends, daughter, roommate and others worth watching.