Joe List (the director) is one of my favorite comedians and this movie is about his good friend, Tom Dustin, who was an up-and-coming comedian from Boston at the same time Joe List was starting out. At an inflection point of both of their careers, Joe and Tom took different paths. This movie explores how Tom's life turned out. It is inadvertently contrasted against Joe's life as well.
And that's all I want to say about the story and recommend you all go see it! If you like comedy at all, this is a great watch as it's a real "inside baseball" look at the industry. It's also super, super funny throughout - and at times incredibly difficult to watch given the subject material. I found myself laughing often and sometimes on the verge of tears.
I don't think this was intentional, but by the end of the movie, one thought that I had over and over was, what about Tom Dustin did we actually learn? Is the movie a portrait of the man himself or a portrait of the man he is? (I don't want to include spoilers but this should make sense if you've seen the movie.) In that regard, it was incredibly thought provoking to mull over the idea of self and truth.
I gave the movie 10 stars because this was an indie film created/produced/financed by Joe List and it takes some stones to do so. I want him to make back all of his money and then some for being a true creative and not just a comedian.
But some criticisms of the film are:
1. It is 10 minutes too long (but also super funny throughout, so it's not the end of the world).
2. it is ostensibly a documentary about Tom, but Joe, the director, is in movie throughout. He was Tom's best friend for years, which sometimes makes him seem "to close" to the material. This critique isn't necessarily a deal breaker either as I enjoyed the scenes with Joe, it was a function of a barebones budget, and I don't think it could be helped. But I want Joe Joe to grow as a filmmaker, so if you're reading Joe (probably not), you'll know what I mean!
Anyway, go see it and listen to his podcast Tuesdays with Stories.
