Albert Brooks is so deft at showing how filmmaking distorts the very reality it aims to record honestly that it's hard to watch family documentaries anymore without thinking about Real Life.
Real Life (1979)
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:13
Rotten:2
Average Rating:6.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Satirist Albert Brooks makes his directorial debut in this hilarious mockumentary that focuses on the day-to-day life of a "typical" American family. Brooks plays himself, a producer who pitches a... Satirist Albert Brooks makes his directorial debut in this hilarious mockumentary that focuses on the day-to-day life of a "typical" American family. Brooks plays himself, a producer who pitches a movie concept about filming a real American family for one year and editing it into a movie. Backed up by a team of psychologists and a respected institute dealing with human behavior, he promises not to let the cameras interfere in any way in their lives. But the problems begin on day one, and Brooks desperately tries to hold his project together. Obsessed with presenting what's "real," he is soon convinced that real life isn't exciting enough for film. Brooks mercilessly parodies the Hollywood persona in this sharp satire of the entertainment industry that presages such later films as EDTV and THE TRUMAN SHOW as well as the television shows THE REAL WORLD, BIG BROTHER, and SURVIVOR. [More]
Starring: Albert Brooks, Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, J.A. Preston
Starring: Albert Brooks, Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, J.A. Preston, Matthew Tobin, James L. Brooks, David Spielberg, Adam Grant
Director: Albert Brooks, Penelope Spheeris
Director: Albert Brooks
Screenwriter: Albert Brooks, Monica Johnson, Harry Shearer
Composer: Mort Lindsey
Director: Penelope Spheeris
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Reviews for Real Life
Though amusing in spots, it goes too far with its one-note joke until it becomes abrasive.
Brooks messes with the genre from the start, spouting pseudoscience about how the filmmakers found their test subjects (led by a spot-on Charles Grodin).
A great, underrated, lost gem of a film that accurately predicted and lampooned reality television long before it ever came to be.
Real Life is funy in spots but is remarkable mostly for its Socratic open-endedness.
Brooks's directorial debut is also one of his best movies, largely due to the funny man's trademark multitasking as writer, actor and helmer.
There's a little bit of genuine prescience, inspiration, and intelligence coursing through its veins, but mostly that smattering of each just makes you crave more.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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