'The Opening Act' A Review

The Opening Act is a dramedy about wouldbe stand-up comedian Will(Jimmy O. Yang) who quits his job in order to MC at a Pennsylvania Improv, the bulk of the run time takes place over the four day gig.

Yang shoulders the bulk of the narrative work and is charming and goes through a definite if subtle transformation. It's an odd balancing act for a movie about comedy to have, basically, a thoroughly sincere thrust. There are some great comedic sequences and a couple less successful relying on cringe but overall it's a small but effective, accurate if occasionally saccharine look at stand-up and someone trying to get into it. A much needed breathe of vitality comes at the end of the first act with the entrance of Alex Moffat playing Chris the feature of the weekend, the middle act, who despite his lascivious and at times mercurial behavior takes Will under his wing. It's an impressive feat to pull off making this houndog not only charming but funny and three dimensional. The other homerun is of course Cedric The Entertainer playing a has-been version of himself- Billy G- who ligths up the screen whenever he's on it. He provides Will with advise and overall gives an understated, sweet, emotional turn. There's also an avalanche of well known stand-ups who appear but it's only Moffat and Cedric The Entertainer who have substantial enough screentime in which to play.

The more complicated comedic sequences(a truly absurd cab ride) don't work as well as the subtle ones- Billy G feeding Will a bite of his soup, Moffat eating ribs late at night saying he's on the tiger diet, and the minutia of preparing for and performing over the course of the weekend. The glaring issue in a movie about stand-up is that there's not enough stand-up. We see basically two bits from Chris, two from Will and him overcoming a heckler, and only one from Billy G. It's a missed opportunity not only to see these three comics perform but to get more to the heart about what being creative is about.

A fun, effective, inside-baseball look at stand-up comedy with an impressive turn from Moffat and a good first leading role for Yang.

Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.