Crying with Laughter

2009 "A Bad Trip Down Memory Lane"
6.9| 1h33m| en
Details

Powerfully redemptive and darkly comedic revenge thriller set in the vicious world of stand-up comedy, starring Stephen McCole and Malcolm Shields.

Director

Producted By

Scottish Screen

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Artivels Undescribable Perfection
Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
graham_525 The over all impression I had of Crying With Laughter was that of a film student or amateur film maker being let loose with a professional film crew and not really knowing what to do with it. The script wasn't great and the plot that unfolded down right silly. Low budget film makers always seem to feel the need to have a shocking element to their story as if this makes it intrinsically good drama and an obligatory climatic scene where all is revealed. It actually started off reasonably well with a solid enough character, the stand up comedian Joey Frisk played by Stephen MacCole. He's a bit clichéd but a decent script could have built around him and his relationship with his family. Instead a totally unconvincing character called Frank starts hanging around trying to get him to attend a school reunion. Frank apparently beats up Joey's landlord and then claims to be a witness to Joey doing it and identifies him in a police line up. It's such a severe attack that Joey is facing the possibility of many years in prison. Frank then pretends to be a friend to Joey offering him a place to live and even an alibi. Anyway a very silly plot unfolds where Frank kidnaps a former teacher who raped him as a child and as it turns out Joey but to be honest by this point I didn't really care. Frank also kidnaps Joeys daughter for reasons that shall remain a mystery. The ending is a bit daft and there is absolutely no resolution as to what will happen to any of the characters concerning the assault charge or the kidnapping. Not that I was particularly interested in finding out.
zaenkney A coked-up, alcoholic narcissist making money by catering his stand-up 'shtick' to his like-minded contemporaries in dimly lit bars like the Bull Pit personifies our protagonist, Joey Frisk, at least to the eye. This comedian was behind in child support and rent, and and just came off as a making it day-to-day, near-do-well, who-cares kind of chap. Consequently, when he once again began his disgusting hyperbole regarding some woman, I felt like shutting this down, and then… WOW! Frank began his magic! Justin Molotnikov, Writer and Director, methodically paced Frank's character to move this piece along like a thriller ought to move. Indeed, we got to know at least the facade of the two main characters fairly well and then, like a train that hits a long 7% grade, we watch the whole thing unfold in a manner which cannot be stopped. The subject matter is dark; the things we do to ourselves and others in order to survive make us, at times, walking talking paradoxes and that is what Joey had become. But, will he grow to be as dangerous as Frank? Malcom Shields and Stephen McCole are exceptional!!! Included: Bawdiness, humor, drama, thrills, depth of character, redemption. 10/06/2010
kolinferguson A shambolic stand up comic Joey Fisk (a terrific Stephen McCole in a welcome lead role) meets an acquaintance from his school days Frank Archer (an understated Malcolm Shields) whose attentions have a sinister ulterior motive.It's hard enough to do a comedy or a really good thriller with genuine shocks but to combine them both without diminishing either is a real accomplishment from writer/director Justin Molotnikov.It's great to see a whole cast of Scottish faces that are new to the big screen.Here's hoping it gets a good distribution deal.
yorkhouse-1 I am a professional screenwriter, and when I see something brilliant, I find myself thinking, "Gee, I wish I'd written that script." I just saw this at the EIFF and had those exact thoughts. A brilliant script, directed well by the writer, and it looks like his first feature. A gripping tale that is entertaining, funny, and thought provoking. The R rating it will receive is both necessary and appropriate -- even though I'm not a fan of R movies, I am a fan of this one. Great message, to boot, but never heavy handed or on the nose. I hope this gets wide distribution -- it deserves it. Only distraction for me is that the Scots accents are quite strong and may not sit well with American audiences who don't have the ear for it. Perhaps it will need subtitles for that crowd -- hah! Great acting, BTW. A solid, different, great film. yh