Standing Up

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jon r I loved this documentary. A long time ago (like 15 years ago), I wanted to make a documentary about struggling stand-up comedians in NYC, the "Hoop Dreams" of stand-up comedy. I wanted to get behind the scenes, see how these people lived their lives, where they worked, what their relationships were like, how their pursuit of stand-up comedy helped them get by (or added to their miseries). I wanted to explore how aspiring comedians came up with their material, what the culture of stand-up comedy was like, what kind of struggles beginning comedians encountered, etc. This documentary wasn't quite the movie I would have made because it only takes place over the course of maybe a year and I wanted mine to go for two or three years. But it is still a thing of beauty: complex, intimate, funny, poetic. Three people--an Orthodox Jew (David Finklestein); a personal injury lawyer (Raafat Toss); and a couch-serving custodian (Sara Parks)--are all trying to make it as comedians in the brutal New York City open-mic circuit. All three of them face unique personal challenges. Finklestein struggles to overcome extreme social anxiety and to balance his principled orthodox upbringing with the demands of the more "decadent" stand-up world (bar culture, physical contact with women, the need to perform on Sabbath); Parks works a job she hates, almost becomes homeless, and can hardly afford her subway ride to the clubs where she performs; Toss is struggling to overcome low self-esteem (a result of a job he hates) and fear of failure. All of them see a kind of hope and redemption in stand-up comedy. The movie, released in 2018, was hardly reviewed. In fact, it received so few reviews it didn't even earn a Rotten Tomatoes rating and thus far has only received one review from audiences. But it is my favorite documentary about stand-up comedy (and I make a point of seeing all of them). It is, to me, a poetic tribute to comedy, to human resilience, and to New York City which offers anyone who really wants it the opportunity to transcend their personal difficulties through the arts. Wonderful. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member the writter make a great job ..a lot of punch lines...the actors make a great job they delivered the problems and message pretty well.. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Standing Up

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