The Best Films I Have Never Seen Before: Modern Romance (1981)

Modern Romance (1981)
Directed by: Albert Brooks.
Written by: Albert Brooks & Monica Johnson.
Starring: Albert Brooks (Robert Cole), Kathryn Harrold (Mary Harvard), Bruno Kirby (Jay), Jane Hallaren (Ellen), Bob Einstein (Sporting Goods Salesman), James L. Brooks (David), George Kennedy (Himself and Zeron).

The characters that Albert Brooks write for himself are among the most self involved in movie history. From Real Life (1979) to Lost in America (1985) to Defending Your Life (1991) to Mother (1996) to The Muse (1999) to Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2006), Brooks is essentially playing a man who is constantly second guessing every decision he makes. He is fully committed to making the decision until he makes it, and then analyzes it to death until he realizes he made a mistake, and then tries to go back and undo what he’s done – and this starts the process all over again. There is obviously an element to Brooks himself in these characters – hell twice, he has even played characters named Albert Brooks – because I think Brooks always wants to do the right thing, but is never really sure what the hell that is.

No where is this more true than in Brooks second film, Modern Romance. Brooks plays Robert Cole, a successful film editor working on what looks like a horrible movie starring George Kennedy and directed by David (James L. Brooks, who would give Albert one of the best roles of his career in Broadcast News). In the films first scene, Brooks has broken up – again – with his longtime girlfriend Mary (Kathryn Harrold). She is frustrated that once again, Robert has broken up with her, and tells him not to call this time. Robert says don’t worry about it – and than immediately starts to worry that he has made the wrong decision.

The first half of the film is pretty much Brooks, wandering around his apartment, bitching on the phone to his assistant editor, going shopping, and going over and over his decision to break up with Mary to determine if he was right or wrong. At times, it is nearly a one man show, and Brooks nails it perfectly. There is a brilliant, hilarious scene in a sporting goods store where the salesman (Bob Einstein, Brooks’ brother and best known as Super Dave Osborne), convinces him to buy the top of the line running gear. But no matter Robert does, he cannot shake the feeling that he made a mistake in breaking up with Mary. The next day, of course, the two of them get back together. The second half of the film pretty much details why Robert and Mary shouldn’t be together. He’s insecure and jealous. She’s cold and distant. They do nothing but argue, no matter where they are or what they’re doing.

The star of the show is of course, Brooks. Harrold does a fine job with Mary, but it’s more of a one note character. The supporting cast – Bruno Kirby as the assistant editor, James L. Brooks as the director and George Kennedy as himself – allow Brooks to poke fun at movie making, and in this he mines some great laughs (I loved the scene where Brooks has to add louder footsteps to the sound mix).

I think in the end, Brooks’ films are basically about how he needs to get over himself – accept his flaws and the flaws of others in order to be happy. But Brooks will never be happy, because he’ll never be able to do that. I tire of movies that put up end titles that explain what happens to the characters after the movie is over – but in Modern Romance, they work brilliantly.

The Best Films I Have Never Seen Before: Real Life (1979)

Real Life (1979) ***

Directed by: Albert Brooks.

Written by: Albert Brooks and Monica Mcgowan Johnson and Harry Shearer.

Starring: Albert Brooks (Albert Brooks), Charles Grodin (Warren Yeager), Frances Lee McCain (Jeannette Yeager), Lisa Urette (Lisa Yeager), Robert Stirrat (Eric Yeager), Matthew Tobin (Dr. Howard Hill), J.A. Preston (Dr. Ted Cleary).

I’ve always been a fan of Albert Brooks. From his own movies – including Lost in America (1985), Defending Your Life (1991) and Mother (1996) which are three of the funniest movies you will ever see – to his work for other director – like Broadcast News, Taxi Driver and Finding Nemo – to his seemingly endless string of Simpsons guest voices (the best of which is probably Hank Scorpio), Brooks has always made me laugh more than most other actors. And recently in Drive, he scared me, which was shocking because for the most part, Brooks plays a thinly veiled version of himself in his roles. Somehow though, I had never seen his first two films. His first film, Real Life, shows just how talented and funny Brooks can be – as a writer, director and an actor, and while it doesn’t rise to the level of his best work, it is still damn funny. And considering how reality TV has risen since he made this film, it seems almost prophetic at times.

In the film Brooks plays Albert Brooks, a version of himself. He is a filmmaker and standup comedian who has garnered some notoriety because of his short films on Saturday Night Live, and now he wants to move onto feature films. But he doesn’t want to do a scripted movie. Inspired by the groundbreaking PBS series American Family, Brooks wants to make a film documenting the life of one year in the life of the typical American family. In order to ensure they pick the right family, they select 200 to undergo rigorous testing in a “scientific” setting, including role playing games and driving tests. He ends up with two choices, one who lives in Phoenix and the other who lives in Green Bay. Not wanting to spend the winter in Green Bay, he picks the Phoenix family. Husband Warren (Charles Grodin), a vet, his neurotic wife Jeannette (Frances Lee McCain) and their two children – Lisa and Eric. He even sends them to Hawaii for two weeks, so he and his crew can get set up and not disturb them. When they get back, they’ll get right to filming American life as it really is. They have even got a new camera, which will capture life as the human eye does, and is said to be less intrusive, as it gives the camera men more freedom to move around. The fact that the camera is a helmet that looks like a storm trooper out of Star Wars doesn’t seem to phase Brooks. In fact he brags “Only six of these cameras were ever made; only five of them ever worked – we have four of those”. Brooks moves in across the street to monitor the filming, and even hires two psychologists to ensure that they do not put too much of a strain on the family.

What Brooks find though, is what scientists have long known. That the simple act of observing can change the families behavior. And when you have a filmmaker like Brooks, all manic energy, he’s not just observing but becomes an active participant in the drama. When Warren messes up a surgery on a horse, and they capture it on film, he falls into a deep depression, and simply sits around the house all day doing nothing. This won’t do for Brooks. He needs action and excitement, and he tries to goose the family along. He dresses up like a clown to try and make everyone happy, and then tries to counsel the wife when she gets cold feet. With nothing else happening, he even thinks that perhaps he can make something happen with her – even suggesting the possibility of an affair. And of course, he needs a big finale – and he’s determined to get one.

Some of the best moments in the film are little, throwaway visual gags. I love every scene with the guys with the monstrous cameras on their heads, which were supposed to be unobtrusive. Often times, we see them running in the background of a shot, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face. And the performances work as well. Grodin has always been a talented comedic actor, and this is some of his better work, as the normal guy, clearly uncomfortable on camera, and trying too hard. And Brooks himself, is, as always, hilarious.

In 1979, the idea of reality TV was still in its infancy. Brooks admired the American Family PBS series, and thought it would be funny to extend it to see the filmmakers behind the scenes movements as well. Now of course, all you need to get a reality TV show is to be a B list star from the 1980s or have the last name Kardashian (by the way, I still have no idea who the Kardashians are, or why I should care about their lives). If they have “typical American families” on reality TV, it’s because they are either little people, or don’t know about birth control. Brooks saw the comedic possibilities in all of this years before it really hit the big time, and Real Life is an insightful comedy about the whole phenomenon. Still, I think had he waited a few decades to make Real Life, he could have made a truly great comedy, not just a good one.