Ben Schwartz

(On Cable TV, September 2020) Clearly easing into an elder statesman of comedy roles, Billy Crystal has slowed down over the past few years—fewer film parts and more elements of his filmography “as himself.” And why not? He doesn’t have a lot left to prove, and as a seventy-something-year-old could coast into retirement without anyone putting up a fight. You can almost feel that late-career contentment at play in Standing Up, Falling Down as he plays a dermatologist with a pronounced sense of humour who comes to mentor a young comedian who has moved back to his parent’s place after a failed stint in Hollywood. As a younger and an older man begin a friendship, you can count on most of the tropes of such films to be trotted out, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing: a strong script, directed by Matt Ratner, allows Crystal to provide the laughs even as the film moves into bittersweet territory. Crystal has some easy chemistry with co-lead Ben Schwartz, and the film isn’t in a hurry to get everything done right away even at 91 minutes. Standing Up, Falling Down is not a big event film—it’s meant to play leisurely at home, entertain audiences with a well-executed portrait of male friendship and bow out. As such, it’s reasonably successful in its aims… and it gives Crystal a good later-career role to show everyone that he’s still reasonably funny under the right circumstances.