Real Life (1979)

Just as The Twelve Chairs is one of Mel Brooks's least-known movies and most deserving of rediscovery, so is Real Life, the first feature film by Albert Brooks (no relation), a buried treasure.

An expansion of one of the short films Brooks created for the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live (and when will someone release those on video?), Real Life takes its cue from An American Family, the landmark 1973 PBS documentary that unflinchingly captured on film the life and gradual dissolution of the wildly dysfunctional Loud family. As a satire of the media's intrusion into our lives, it would make an ideal double-feature with The Truman Show.

Brooks stars as himself, a comedian who, he states, would have been a scientist had he "studied harder or been graded more fairly." Though obliviously unqualified, he is spearheading a project that endeavors to capture a year in the life of a typical American family.

Charles Grodin stars as put-upon Warren Yeager, the Phoenix, Arizona, veterinarian who watches helplessly as the callous Brooks overwhelms his life. (At one point, Brooks makes an entrance in a clown suit to cheer up the depressed brood.) Frances Lee McCain costars as Grodin's wife, who develops a crush on Brooks. "I'm a shallow fellow," he insincerely dissuades her.

This docu-comedy is vintage Brooks, but so dryly deadpan that the uninitiated might not be in on the joke. Among the scenes that are classics in the Brooks canon are his hilariously inappropriate production number that launches the film (he belts out "Something's Gotta Give" to the locals), his cheery dismissal of the unnecessary but union-imposed film crew ("See you at the premiere!"), the revelation that Mrs. Yeager's gynecologist is a notorious "baby broker" previously exposed on 60 Minutes, and the increasingly fractious production meetings in which an old-Hollywood producer (listening in on speaker phone) insists that Brooks cast James Caan as a neighbor.

Real Life was cowritten by Monica Johnson, who later collaborated with Brooks on Modern Romance, Lost in America, The Scout, Mother, and Harry Shearer (from another classic mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap), who also appears as Pete the cameraman. --Donald Liebenson Amazon.com

Albert Brooks, Male Psychic Filmmaker...

Real Life (1978) After directing some short films shown during the early days of Saturday Night Live, Albert Brooks made his feature directing debut with this somewhat prescient comedy about an average American family (including Charles Grodin-Midnight Run and Frances Lee McCain-Gremlins) who agree to let fast talking show business hipster Albert Brooks (as a cheesier version of himself) spend a year filming their lives for a reality program. Of course nothing goes as planned, and soon everyone is getting pretty crazy filming and being filmed 24 hours a day. Written by Brooks, Monica Johnson, and Harry Shearer (of all people), this one works fairly well, starting off funny, getting a little soft in the middle, then coming back on track for a bright wrapup. Among the high points: hearing Shearer's now familiar voice on the radio a time or two; hearing controversial Hollywood producer Jennings Lang provide a vocal cameo as (what else?) a money worshipping Hollywood producer; the always welcome Grodin; Brooks himself, unafraid to make the movie version of himself obnoxious and annoying (a bit like a slightly lower key 70's Vince Vaughn); and the eerie moments when this nearly 30 year old movie seems to be psychic, predicting the rise of reality entertainment, and my fave of all: the scene where Brooks explains the filming technology to his subject family, showing them a purposely goofy looking whole head helmet the cameramen will wear to shoot the footage. Asked where the film is in the camera, Brooks replies there is no film, the helmets will record the images and sound digitally, with chip boards that are removed so the footage can be edited, with a fresh chip board inserted for more filming. Kind of like my digital still camera and its memory card. Wow. Maybe this technology was already being researched in 1979, but considering it took tech super guru George Lucas another 20 years to film something digitally, that's a pretty amazing prediction. That is a slight digression, however, so to wrap the movie up-a definite recommendation for fans of Brooks or Grodin, keeping in mind that soft middle section. Others seeking entertainment might be better advised to try a different Brooks film like Modern Romance or Lost in America. December 19, 2008

Still Hilarious...And Hardly Seen

Anyone who is into that whole 'Simpson's' style of humor should really enjoy this. A movie way ahead of it's time, it features Albert Brooks as a semi-psychotic filmmaker who is making a movie about Charles Grodin and his family. There are so many comedic bits that work here; The tension between Albert and the Black journalist Dr Cleery is hilarious; The scene with the show horse works quite nicely, as does Brooks sudden singing at the start of the film. For those who appreciate Brook's unique sense of humor, I can't imagine you would find fault. And for a movie that was made in the late 70's, it's still funnier than stuff that came out last week. Harry Shearer contributed to the script, stars, and offers his voice to the radio playing in Charles Grodin's car. Grodin is in top form here, too. Constantly depressed('She set the table...He set the mood...'), Grodin makes a perfect counterpart to Brooks and his hair-brained mania. Also, it should be noted that the narrative, provided by Brooks throughout, is a constant source of comedic 'gold'. This film is smart, different, and, and the title of this review indicated, hilarious. January 22, 2007

Brook's first film is one of a kind.

Albert Brooks may be the most creative comedian of this and the last century (his real name is ALBERT EINSTEIN after all; and you can look it up)

This first film is hilarious; obnoxious; and all together FUNNY! Brooks rarely if ever plays sympathetic characters in his movies; all the while skewering people who are the same in "real life". This is the ultimate put-on movie; may have influenced in some way the later films of Christopher Guest. Some of my favorite bits are Albert's "back burner" confrontation with the black consultant, His appearance at the front door in clown makeup (listen for his in-character "hello?" before Grodin opens the door-for some reason it always makes me LOL), most of the preparation experiments for what amounted to a month or so of filming (instead of the hoped for year)before it collapsed are hilarious as well. Brooks may have made better films but this is still the most original of them all. November 7, 2006

Love him or hate him

Albert Brooks is one of this culture's most revealing litmus tests. Some people don't find him the least bit funny. The fault was once believed to lie in Brooks's "understated, subtle-to-the-point-of-non-existent" humor. New findings, however, point to a flaw in the brain of the viewer. Specifically, the congenital underdevelopment of a region in the Occipital cortex known as "Schmegegy's Area", long thought responsibe for sense of humor. While it's not a serious brain disorder, the name of the syndrome is "Serious Brain Disorder". Real Life isn't the funniest movie of all time. That honor belongs to Modern Romance. Real Life is the second funniest movie of all time. The "Airport" line is my favorite. Buy at your own risk. If you don't love it, you've self-diagnosed yourself as having a most unfunny brain. June 25, 2004

I'm not the Indian rubber man..........................

This may be the funniest movie I've ever seen. I have watched it countless times and I never get tired of it. You have to watch this more than once to catch everything. Albert is SO obnoxious and SO egotistical to the point of utter madness. One of the funniest scenes is when Dr. Cleary abandons the project. You've got to see it to believe it. There are so many unforgettable funny lines in this film, too. "I'm not a scientist, I'm a comedian, I can afford the luxury of honesty." SEE THIS MOVIE------STUDY IT------WORSHIP IT May 14, 2004

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