Following his directorial debut with the very satisfying documentary Always Amazing, comedian/writer/director Steve Byrne makes a leap to scripted fare that finds the talented artist sticking largely to what he knows best. In The Opening Act, Byrne distills all of his early experiences as an aspiring comedian into the character of Will Chu, played by the hilarious Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley). We get the bare minimum of backstory during the opening credits that cues us into why Will has the drive to be a comedian. Comedy has helped many people get through dark times, and stand-up specials were one of the only things that he and his dad could latch onto during his mom’s illness when he was quite young. Today, the twenty-something Will is beating his head against the wall as he fights for stage time at the local bar where he has cajoled everyone in his life to come see him at one point or another. Will is at a critical point in his life where he is struggling with whether to continue trying to break through to the next level or settle for just being the funny guy in town that did not have the talent to make it a profession.
Opportunity comes in the form of his rising-star comedian pal (Ken Jeong) recommending him for a weekend emcee gig out of state to a well-connected club manager, hilariously underplayed by Neal Brennan. This is the type of opportunity that, if he nails it, would open up a whole new world for him. Will spontaneously quits his dead-end insurance job to spite his unwavering boss (Bill Burr) and heads to Pennsylvania to open for his idol, the long-in-the-tooth Billy G. (Cedric the Entertainer). Will is like an overeager puppy who shows how green he is to everyone he is trying to impress. The film leads us to believe that he does have some basic talent, but he is still a baby comedian with an unformed personality that will be necessary to truly build an audience. It is during this weekend where he will get a crash-course on being a professional standup. He wants to get this wisdom from Billy, but the impatient elder statesman is slow to warm to Will’s charms. It is with the rising party-animal comedian with whom he is sharing a condo (Alex Moffat, Saturday Night Live) where he finds a sympathetic ear to learn some lessons that may or may not be the best for him.
The script from Byrne is incredibly straightforward outside of a few odd choices that did not play out exactly as I expected. This is not altogether a strike against the movie, but it does make for a less engaging story overall. The film feels like it is fighting to cram as many horror stories from the comedy club life as possible into the 90-minute runtime. We have the botched introductions of your idol, the flirty fan who is a bit too uncontrollable, the radio interview from hell, and, of course, hecklers. All of these things at least register as interesting premises, but they are inserted in lieu of developing Will as a character in which we can get emotionally invested. We learn very little about the character outside of the bookends of the film. We know he is passionate about comedy, but only because that is the plot of the movie. Why is this path that is littered with broken dream the only thing that can make Will fulfilled? This is explored only in the smallest of moments. This could be overlooked on some level if the film made up for it in laughs, but laugh-out-loud moments are few and far between for a movie about stand-up comedy.
The film is not hilarious, but it is comfortable. This is a film that will play best for a very small segment of audience members: stand-up comedy fans who already love these performers. One advantage that Byrne has when approaching this film is the years of friendship he has garnered with some of the funniest people in the business. Nearly every scene has someone that you know and love if you follow comedy closely. Yet, seeing them only spurs a quick spike of enjoyment from seeing someone you like rather than connecting with anything they are given to do on screen. I love Iliza Shlesinger and Brooks Wheelan, but they are glorified extras in their brief cameos. There are so many funny people in this movie, but they are not utilized to their full potential. Chalk this up to being a bit too scattershot in the plot. A prime example of this is Will’s girlfriend Jen (Debby Ryan) who only seems to be in the movie to give Will a reason to vocalize some of his fears. The character is so superfluous that it would have been better to not have her at all. Despite having a lot of issues with the movie, there is still a lot I enjoyed about it – all tied directly to the performances. Yang does a lot with a character that is oddly underdeveloped. Cedric the Entertainer is in top-form in the reluctant mentor role. The most dynamic character in the film for me is the Alex Moffat character, who has way more nuance to him than I ever expected. It is difficult to recommend this film to general discerning audiences, but stand-up fans who want a fun distraction will likely enjoy this on some level.
Video Quality
RLJE Films brings The Opening Act to Blu-Ray with a very pleasing 1080p video presentation. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky with no discernable digital noise. The low-lit interior of the comedy club maintains a stable image filled with nice detail. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups, especially. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design in the comedy condo along with the fabrics of clothing, provide crystal clear textural details. This is as solid of a presentation as any modern movie should provide on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates this world perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. There is almost nothing in the way of action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way, such as audience laughter and club chatter. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. There are a few exaggerated moments in the film that engage the low end in a really pleasing manner. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature.
Special Features
- The Making Of The Opening Act: A six-minute featurette in which the cast and crew introduce themselves and discuss what drew them to the project. There is a great friendship among these performers which comes through in the course of these interviews.
- Getting Started In Comedy: A four-minute featurette which shows longer versions of the stories the comics shared during the end credits. This was one of my favorite parts of the film, so I enjoyed getting a bit more of it.
- Extended Stand-Up Scenes: Eleven minutes of additional material from several of the performers in the movie that offers some solid laughs.
Final Thoughts
The Opening Act is a film that will likely appeal to those who have an interest in the stand-up comedy scene. A large part of the enjoyment of this film stems from seeing all of the various comedians director Steve Byrne stuffs into the film in minor roles. The film is pretty straightforward and predictable, but it functions well as a nice respite from more dour fare. It is not hilarious enough to recommend to those who are not stand-up comedy fans, but it is worth a watch if the premise piques your interest.
The Opening Act is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: RLJE Films has 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.