- Actors: Dick Haynes, Albert Brooks, Matthew Tobin, J.A. Preston, Joseph Schaffler
- Directors: Albert Brooks
- Writers: Albert Brooks, Harry Shearer, Monica Mcgowan Johnson
- Producers: Jonathan Kovler, Norman Epstein, Penelope Spheeris
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Paramount
- Release Date: July 17 2001
- Run Time: 99 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000055Z4H
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#25,176 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #10 in DVD > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Albert Brooks
- #19 in DVD > Comedy > Comedy Directors > James L. Brooks
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
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
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love him or hate him,
By A NYC Screenwriter (NY, New York United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Real Life (Widescreen) (DVD)
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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not the Indian rubber man..........................,
By John Candy (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Real Life (Widescreen) (DVD)
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
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't miss the Trailer,
By
This review is from: Real Life (Widescreen) (DVD)
This has got to be Albert Brooks near his best. A real funny movie. Make sure to get the DVD version of this with the extra interview with brooks (circa 2001)and don't forget to watch the trailer for this movie also on the DVD. It is hysterically funny and as good as any scene of the movie.
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