Studio: Criterion
Release Date: 8/27/2024
Rating: PG
Film Grade: B
The Story: The year is 1979, and comedian/filmmaker Albert Brooks is fascinated by the PBS series, An American Family, that followed the lives of the Loud family over the course of seven months, edited down to 300 hours. Brooks decides to make his own documentary, but he’s going to embrace science, teaming up with the National Institute of Human Behavior to monitor and add insight to the process.
Brooks takes the film crew and two doctors to Phoenix, AZ to embed themselves with the Yeager family to film them over the course of an entire year. This is their story.
My Take: While not the first mockumentary, Real Life paved the way for many others to come. The film is supposed to be centered around the Yeagers, but the main character is definitely Brooks, playing a shallow and self-centered version of his Hollywood persona. Although it long predates Seinfeld, there are definitely echoes of George Costanza in the movie, as Brooks is oblivious to what’s going on around him, solely focused on himself and the film.
Charles Grodin plays patriarch and veterinarian Warren with the perfect level of dry comedy that he was so well known for. He shows what the seductive power of potential fame might look like to a naïve and generally good-hearted man. Conversely, his wife, Jeanette, played by the sharp Frances Lee McCain, remains a sceptic of the ordeal. The two viewpoints lead to a number of conflicts that the movie handles both with honesty and comedy.
Myriad themes abound, from the obvious role of vanity in “reality” filmmaking, to the impact of observation on science subjects, to the business of Hollywood. Tied into it all are some of the technological advances shown. Cutting edge (fictional) digital film recording is featured, along with heat-sensing automatic cameras, and even computer-captured facial imaging. On the humorous side, those digital cameras are worn over the cameraman’s head, looking like old diving bell helmets.
There are a few misfires, such as a montage segment that is funny, but goes on too long. Of a bigger concern is the ending, which feels both abrupt and underdeveloped, as though they had written themselves into a corner and just decided to end it. The suddenness doesn’t completely derail the movie, but also doesn’t feel like it does justice to the family.
Visuals: Film grain abounds in some scenes, so purists should be happy with this transfer. Other shots are crisp and clean. Colors are representative of the era, with an eclectic variety of everything from earthy, muted browns to loud colors. This is also available in 4K, but considering the source, I’m not sure if there’s enough to be gained for the extra cost.
Audio: The disc features the original mono mix. As a pseudo-documentary, the focus needs to be on dialog, and it’s all clear and understandable. The music used feels appropriate for the time, and there’s a fun, shmaltzy song at the beginning of the movie that sets the absurd tone of what is to come.
Special Features: For a Criterion release, it’s surprisingly sparse. The interviews are brief, and not overly insightful, but still worth the watch.
- New interview with Brooks
- New interview with actor Frances Lee McCain
- 3D trailer directed by Brooks
- An essay by film critic A. S. Hamrah
Final Verdict: This was a first time viewing for me. While Rob Reiner built on the mocumentary form for his more popular films, and audiences were treated to weekly doses of it in such great efforts as The Office, this entry deserves a special place in film history. It’s not as polished as later examples, but features enough clever scripting, tone-perfect acting, and unexpected situations to entertain the audience.
Recommended for fans of Brooks or the genre.
Fun Fact: Harry Shearer not only co-wrote the movie, he also appears as Pete, one of the cameramen, and can be heard as a radio announcer.
The original trailer can be seen on the movie’s product page here:
https://www.criterion.com/films/30974-real-lifeMy Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
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