If you have even a passing interest in modern comedy, more than likely you owe a debt of gratitude to Del Close. Despite passing away in 1999 at the age of 64, the family tree of comedic influences typically flows back to the legendary improv teacher in one way or another. All eras of Saturday Night Live have benefited from his guidance, and modern masterpieces such as 30 Rock or anything from the Adult Swim lineup stems from the philosophy of fearlessness he instilled in his students. The totality of the way in which he revolutionized comedy is hard to distill into one concise text, but the new documentary For Madmen Only from Heather Ross does as admirable of a job as one could hope to do. While the format occasionally veers into the comfortable familiarity of a straightforward talking-head documentary, Ross dares to be a bit more creative in her approach for much of the time – or at the very least she does not edit out the darkness that was signature of the creative. As you will learn, Close is a hard man to truly know, but this film helps peel back the layers of his disturbed genius .
The unique framing device utilized in this story may come as a surprise to even those who claim to know a great deal about our subject. At the height of gritty graphic novels in the 1980s such as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, there was another title published by DC Comics that gets considerably less press: Wasteland. This anthology-style horror comic was written by Close and comics veteran John Ostrander, and, while the film may overindulge in the autobiographical nature of the text, it does provide another avenue into the psyche of this complicated individual which Ross brings to life through reenactments. Wonderful character actor James Urbaniak (Difficult People) weaves in and out of the journey as Close alongside a litany of distinct comic personalities such as as Matt Walsh (Veep), Patton Oswalt (Big Fan) and Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy). Close is seen struggling to bring his vision of his insane life story to the page, and real-life interviews and narration from the great Michaela Watkins (The Unicorn) guides us the remainder of the way.
The film makes no bones about the fact that Close was known to take great liberties with the truth. A tragic origin story relayed by Close and repeated as gospel by his disciples is given new context after being explored earlier in the process. Some facts are pretty set in stone and covered quite astutely; Close was confirmed to have made his start in a comedy group with Mike Nichols and Elaine May – one of them may have even broken his heart. The rules he adopted early on and shared with others may seem obvious, but they changed the way performers thought about comedy. He was a man who would chastise you for a cheap joke and advocated the importance of being present in a scene. You needed to make the surprising choice if you were going to do anything of note. Much of the film is dedicated to the process of developing his long-form type of improv dubbed “The Harold” which no one believed in but this dedicated madman. Knowing from a modern perspective that his format works, watching the pieces come together with the help of some equally-talented partners such as Charna Halpern is thrilling.
We are given as thorough of an overview of Close’s life as a swift hour-and-a-half film can deliver. While many famous students such as John Belushi and John Candy have passed away, comedy phenoms such as Dave Thomas and George Wendt are still around to give the unvarnished truth about his time at Second City in both Chicago and Canada. Modern comedy figures like Tina Fey, Jason Mantzoukas and Ike Barinholtz all wax poetic about the man. Even Bob Odenkirk tells a dingy story about interviewing Close as a young man which gave him a new perspective on who could succeed in comedy. As a film, For Madmen Only does a successful job of giving you some varied perspectives on the man. In many ways, he was mentally unwell, but he also had a once-in-a-lifetime mind for comedy. He left behind a legacy of performers who continue to make the world laugh, but he himself struggled with the lack of public recognition. The film captures the messy, complex nature of Del Close in a way that should truly resonate with comedy fans and beyond.
Video Quality
For Madmen Only comes to Blu-Ray in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio from a gorgeous high definition master. The film mostly consists of new interviews with a substantial amount of archival footage and some new reenactments. The documentary footage and reenactments looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. The footage of the older material seems to be the best version of it that would be possible, with most of it looking at least decent. Interview segments look sleek and clear with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film are natural and vibrant as they provide a nice visual pop on screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. I do not see how this set could have been improved visually. It’s a beautiful transfer handled with care by Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this film perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The filmmakers do a really great job of capturing their subjects and making sure all this information comes through with supreme clarity. The subtle implementation of music establishes the mood of the film, and it is resolved well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are limited but what is there is replicated perfectly. You could not have asked for a better audio presentation for this one. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Heather Ross and Producer Matt Belknap of the podcast Never Not Funny provide a very fun and informative commentary track in which they discuss shooting on the fly to get certain interviews, the origin story behind this documentary, working from Del’s own words, the COVID delay, wading through the muddy history of Del Close and more. This track glides along at a really breezy pace and never ceases to be entertaining.
- Official Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
- A Visit From L. Ron: A four-minute unused sequence in which the great Paul F. Tompkins shows up to talk with Close as the founder of Scientology.
- Career Advice From Lash LaRue: A minute-long unused sequence in which Lash LaRue (Patton Oswalt) doles out some career advice.
- Between Takes with Josh Fadem: A minute-long outtake of performers “getting into character” and joking around on set.
- Del’s Horrible Apartment: A four-minute story from Charna Halpern in which she discusses the state of Close’s apartment and the general way in which he did not understand how certain things worked in society.
- Adam McKay – Improv Is Basketball: A minute-and-a-half unused sequence in which director Adam McKay delivers a metaphor for improv.
- Mantzoukas and Barinholtz Take Del On The Road: A two-minute sequence in which these two comedians relay some of their personal interactions with Close.
- Jason Mantzoukas – Improv Onstage Vs. TV: A three-minute interview in which Mantzoukas breaks down the different facets of improv in different forms.
- Jason Sudeikis On Kansas: A minute-long unused sequence in which Sudeikis relays why he believes Close may have been equipped to lift other people to greater acclaim.
- Jason Sudeikis – Insanity & Comedy: Another minute-long story from Sudeikis about the fine line between insanity and creativity.
- Tim Meadows Punks Del: A minute-long interview with Tim Meadows in which he shares a story in which he got Close to uproariously laugh.
Final Thoughts
For Madmen Only is a very satisfying documentary that shines a spotlight on the unique man who helped shape modern comedy. Not only do you get key biographical insights, but also an exploration of the form of improvisation that he introduced to the world. Through a mixture of new interviews and reenactments, director Heather Ross skillfully distills a lot of information into a very entertaining film. Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have released a Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation and an impressive selection of special features. Comedy fans should not hesitate to add this to their collection. Recommended
For Madmen Only is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
