I saw it once before, years ago, and it left an indelible impression on me. I watched it again just ten minutes ago, and I am confirmed in my praise.
The performances are tops, the story dark but very funny - and factual - based on Jerry Stahl's book of the same name. Jerry Stahl is played by Ben Stiller in his most challenging yet most convincing role to date. It's a real privilege to watch such a performance.
Mind you, I'm not exactly Ben Stiller's biggest fan (to be fair, I have enjoyed a few of his films), and Jerry Stahl was the writer of the TV show ALF; while that could have been a turn-off for me, it wasn't. Sure, there have been some moralizing, vanilla critics who couldn't stomach the overabundance of drug abuse depicted, but I really think too many of them found it hard to rate the film objectively due to what they took as an affront to their precious sensitivities. Which is not to say this film didn't get its share of raving reviews. It's a black comedy, an incomprehensibly strange creature for some, but a true friend to others.
If you're smarter than most people, and you can take your entertainment black, see this one.
The performances are tops, the story dark but very funny - and factual - based on Jerry Stahl's book of the same name. Jerry Stahl is played by Ben Stiller in his most challenging yet most convincing role to date. It's a real privilege to watch such a performance.
Mind you, I'm not exactly Ben Stiller's biggest fan (to be fair, I have enjoyed a few of his films), and Jerry Stahl was the writer of the TV show ALF; while that could have been a turn-off for me, it wasn't. Sure, there have been some moralizing, vanilla critics who couldn't stomach the overabundance of drug abuse depicted, but I really think too many of them found it hard to rate the film objectively due to what they took as an affront to their precious sensitivities. Which is not to say this film didn't get its share of raving reviews. It's a black comedy, an incomprehensibly strange creature for some, but a true friend to others.
If you're smarter than most people, and you can take your entertainment black, see this one.