Here Today

As I've mentioned in many reviews, the genre of comedy is my favorite one if there is a comedy that is actually funny these days. However, after seeing "Here Today", my faith in the comedy genre was reassured when the likes of Billy Crystal is gracing the screen. Wow, I thought this filmmaker had retired since it's been awhile since he has been on the screen. Hopefully this is the start of a resurgence of more to come.

Veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) forms an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship with New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish). Emma--the unlikely recipient of a prize to have lunch with the comedy legend, despite not knowing who he is--gets off to a rocky start with Charlie (think seafood allergy, a hospital visit, and an epi pen). Before long, each finds in the other a sort of soul mate, forging a deep bond that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of friendship, love and trust. 

Others to round out the cast are Penn Badgley as Rex, Charlie's son, Laura Behanti as Francine, Charlie's daughter, Andrew Dupand as Darrell, Matthew Broussard as Roger, Alex Brightman as Justin, Gianmarco Soresi as Lenny, Brandon Uranowitz as Gary, Audrey Hsieh as Lindsay, Charlie's granddaughter, Anna Deavere Smith as Dr. Vidor, Louisa Krause as Carrie and Nyambi Nyambi as Dwayne St. John, Emma's ex-boyfriend.

This was directed with amazing staging and pacing by Billy Crystal ("Likely Stories, Vol. 3" (segment- "Split Decision") '83, "Mr. Saturday Night" '92, "Forget Paris" '95, "61*" (TV movie) '01) plus TV. He hasn't directed many films in his career,but what he has helmed, he certainly knows how to work with his actors so they truly emit the appropriate emotions when needed. This was also well written by Crystal ("Likely Stories, Vol. 3" (segment- "Split Decision") '83, "Memories of Me" '88, "Mr. Saturday Night" '92, "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold" '94, "Forget Paris" '95, "America's Sweethearts" '01) plus TV, and Alan Zweibel ("The Beach Boys: It's OK" (TV movie) '76, "Gilda Live" '80, "Big Shots in America" (TV movie) '85, "Dragnet" '87, "North" '94, "I Am Your Child" (TV movie documentary) '97, "The Story of Us" '99) plus TV, shorts and videos, based on the short story, "The Prize" by Zweibel. This film was written as a sort of dramedy (both comedy and drama), which gave it more of a poignant story. The way it is conveyed finds the audience laughing and being misty-eyed all in the same paragraph. The late, great Neil Simon wrote many of his comedies using the dramedy route and it made a difference. In fact, like Simon's "The Odd Couple", this also had that 'odd couple' feel to it which gave it that 'opposites attract' conveyance to it. Other than a couple of very small places of slowness, this story was compelling as it was entertaining. If you like Crystal's brand of writing, his "Which Witch?" has been announced. 

All that I can say, is that I'm so glad that Crystal didn't retire and looks like he will make a return to the big screen. If you're a Crystal fan, like I am, you will revel with this. It's not one 'one-liner' after the other, but having drama included, this would be assumed that it would be a little more toned down. Suffice it to say, I had a great time with this, considering my love of comedies and of the true talent of a natural comedian in the form of Billy Crystal. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                           Rated: PG-13                                         117mins.