Dealin' with Idiots

2013 improvised comedy

Rating: 12/20

Plot: A comedian decides that his next movie will be based on the titular parents and coaches who come to his son's little league games.

This is better than the scores of lousy reviews it got, and I may have given it a bonus point just because I felt a little sorry for it. I did think it was very funny, but it never feels like a complete movie, more a series of humorous interactions pieced together into something that is about as long as your average movie. It's a movie about a guy getting ideas to make a movie, and as he tells one character, "When I'm done, it might not be interesting." If you don't find the interactions as funny as I think they are, it's probably not going to be very interesting. The biggest problem is probably the story's ending which is about as bad as any ending I can remember seeing. The climax is terrible enough, but then it manages to get even worse with the final shot and some weird dancing thing. I have no idea what Jeff Garlin was thinking there. I'm also confused about the decision to include his character's father as some kind of ghost. I probably only watched this because I follow Garlin on Twitter and because there are a few familiar faces for fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Those faces aren't the only reason this reminded me a bit of Curb. The goofy music and the improv style also gave it that feel. J.B. Smoove, Fred Willard, Bob Odenkirk, and Richard Kind are veterans of this kind of comedy and are as funny--though in spots more than streams--as you'd expect them to be. Luenell (from Borat) steals a baffling scene at Smoove's house where a collection of characters work on their autobiographies. My favorite line in the whole thing: "Lose and get a cupcake! I'd say that's the attitude of a winner!" I feel like I'm trying to talk myself into thinking this is better than it is. It is funny and a good way for a Curb fan upset that Larry David isn't working on a new season of the sitcom to spend his time. That ending is inexcusable though.