Humor Me

It’s a common cliché: an artist with no money, no relationship and no home. Combine those aspects along with some self-deprecating humour, and you’re going to be guaranteed laughs from across the audience. Sam Hoffman’s 2017 comedy, Humor Me is the perfect package of the aforementioned genre, all neatly presented in 93 minutes of running time.

The film follows the protagonist, Nate Kroll (Jemaine Clement), an award-winning playwright who is forced to move back in with his overly pragmatic father, Bob (Elliott Gould) after both his career and marriage falls apart in a singular day. Despite his Harvard degree, Nate is envious of his younger and more successful brother, Randy (Erich Bergen), resulting his negative attitude towards life along with those around him.

Humor Me is a relatively safe film – as I previously mentioned, it ticks the boxes for this specific micro-genre and doesn’t stray too far from its intended purpose. The casting isn’t an all-star one, but the jokes did make me chuckle and I found myself warmed by its story along with the acting.

I guess the only flaw of this film is that it didn’t have one. It’s a very monotone piece. There aren’t any strong elements that pull it away from other movies, and towards the pedestal of a timeless classic. However, there aren’t any specifically negative areas that I could point out either, the jokes are fun and you’ll get a good kick out of watching this film, but it’s not one that stays with you in the long haul.

Its predictability was probably also one of its major downfalls, I could almost guess the finale of the film and the manner in which it would climax. That’s the thing, it’s a feel good, positive, find-your-reason-for-living type of movie! There are no real negatives or detrimental consequences added, which singularly doesn’t actually define the quality of a film, but the writing doesn’t push boundaries either and that’s the dangerous part. Yes the jokes are funny, but they’re not smart or good enough to repeat to your friends, and I doubt I would laugh a second time at them.

Anyways, the long story short? It’s worth the 93 minutes but no more than that. Humor Me is barely a one hit wonder, and you’ll most likely forget it by the time you wake up the next morning. If you’re looking for a fluff piece that you can play in the background while you do something more important than this might be the film for you. However, if you’re looking for a comedy that’s a little deeper than a story about an overweight, middle-aged man trying to find his mojo, keep walking or you’re going to be disappointed.

Humor Me 
American Essentials Film Festival 2018
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