Great buddy banter in a comedy-drama better than most these days.
Standing Up, Falling Down
Grade: A-
Director: Matt Ratner (Band of Robbers)
Screenplay: Peter Hoare
Cast: Ben Schwartz, Billy Crystal
Run Time: 1h 31m
Rating: NR
By John DeSando
Disproving the old adage that you can’t go home, Standing Up, Falling Down shows that laughs and sentiment can be a salve for the sadness of not making it in the big city. If you’re a standup comedian like Scott (Ben Schwartz) and you can make them laugh at home, then you should come home: “Ford Fiesta — Why do they even CALL it that? I feel like it’s never really a ‘fiesta’ inside. Right? It’s just a car!” (Scott in standup mode)
Also, if you meet an aging dermatologist like Marty (Billy Crystal—never better), and the two of you can do friendly screwball comedy dialogue in regular conversation, then you made a great choice to come home. It’s my long way around for saying this is a terrifically-satisfying comedy-drama in large part because these two are so well matched, like Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin in The Kominsky Method.
Scott is running from big-city failure back home to face more failure as he regrets his breakup with Becky (Eloise Mumford) when he last left home (She has recently married an attorney). Yet he succeeds in making a lasting friendship with Marty and gaining a love prospect or two along the way.
Scott faces the indifference of his disappointed dad while Marty faces off an estranged son—both funny guys have issues familiar to most of their audiences. Dad’s disappointment that Scott won’t even work for his lumber yard, and Marty’s estrangement from his son and, more importantly, grandson are the twin impediments to their lives being better every day (Marty: “Regret is the only thing that’s real. It’s why the good lord gave us weed and booze— numbing agents.”).
The fact that both friends can mine the circumstances for laughs helps themselves and the film. I’m not sure currently you can have better bantering buddies in a film that explores real-life challenges. On Amazon Prime
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at
