classicsoncall Review of International Falls

International Falls (2019)

"I thought I was good at nurturing misery."

[6/10 · 19 December 2020]

For a movie about stand-up comics, this wasn't very funny. Nor did it try to be I guess, as each of it's principals faced an existential crisis of their own, with only one of them on the right side of the grass when it was all over. Somehow I couldn't get into the rhythm of this movie, it seemed like it had potential but both Tim Fletcher (Rob Huebel) and Dee (Rachael Harris) had a connection that wasn't really a connection at all. I pretty much lost interest with the first bedroom scene because it came across as gratuitously inserted for it's prurient appeal, and if you need a hook like that to draw an audience I think it's a cheap way to go. Interestingly, both actors have a slew of TV and movie credits, but I've never seen or heard of either one. Maybe if I had, I would have been more in tune to their performances in the story. One thing that comes through though is what Tim had to say about comics on the road trying to make it. The mediocre ones can reach a certain level and wind up doing bars and hotels for the rest of their careers without ever catching a big break. I saw one once at a lodge in the Poconos and it's pretty sad when you know the punch line before it's delivered. I wonder what ever happened to that guy.