Real Life (1979)
7/10
All's fair in Real Life and Warhol
17 January 2024
Watched the Reiner documentary/love-letter to Albert and realized unlike his others I had never seen this Brooks film.

If you like his sense of humor, and appreciate the way he loves and loathes himself, then I think you'll enjoy this film from 1979. There's a whole lot of mocking going on, and Brooks as if often the case, is keen on an idea that the camera changes everything, well before MTV had its Real World.

I almost feel like this would make a better book than a movie.

Cleverness I think sometimes hits a bit of a wall trying to climb onto the silver screen, but the movie really is clever and was worth checking out. Really Brooks is a social critic, but one that you'd actually like to sit down and have a drink with.

The early parts are so great and bursting with the eager energy of the long gag he's going for. That bad sweater kind of 70's PBS hip documentary - "hey what are you waiting for, let's go inside" - Mix in a bit part for Spielberg's brother that also catches the invasive nature of cameras with a 60 Minutes vibe. As always in the Brooks realm, there is a sense of relationships being impossible and yet ever so vital. A Real Truth?

Not every one likes to feel bemused, but this is A-rated B-Musement.
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