Bobcat Goldthwait's Call Me Lucky is a reflective, evolving documentary about Barry Crimmins, a one-of-a-kind stand-up comedian, whose abrasive, in-your-face type of comedy challenged American audiences and politicians to question the status quo for decades. A man who has all but been forgotten today, Call Me Lucky turns a pensive eye to this brilliant and complex comedian in Barry Crimmins, whose bullish comedic style took on American ignorance and complacency in the 1980s America at the height of the Reagan era. Call Me Lucky is a film that starts off as a ode to an important man in Bobcat Goldthwait, offering an in-depth biography of this bristling comedian who spoke his mind and was more in-touch with what was going on around him than almost anyone. The film is a wild ride for most of its running time, getting various comedians to talk about the influence Barry Crimmins had them, his importance and legacy, and how it inspired many comedians to be themselves. What makes Call Me Lucky a powerful documentary though is how quickly the film evolves into something far more compelling, revealing Barry Crimmin's dark-seeded past, capturing how it shaped the man he is to this day, an outspoken activist who wants nothing more than to make the world a better place. Through Barry's tragic story of being sexually abused as a child, Call Me Lucky provides an intoxicating portrait of how past tragedy can shape future triumph, revealing a man whose activism and deep-seeded anger towards those who oppress the weak stems from his past. We see how Barry's worldview was shaped by his past experiences, understanding where this man's outspoken nature comes from, with stand-up comedy being the first creative outlet which let Barry Crimmins express his outrage with a system that leaves far too many in the shadows. I like how the film makes the distinction between being angry out of selfishness vs. selflessness, revealing how Barry Crimmins was always a lover of people, most notably the individual, with his rage and anger focused solely on destroying complacency and ignorance in society, forcing people to see what is much easier to ignore than confront or repair. Angry, tragic, and ultimately heroic, Bobcat Goldthwait's Call Me Lucky is a powerful biography of the complicated life of Barry Crimmins, a story of personal trial and selfless triumph, which led him to inspire many future comedians, as well as be a major force in driving increased child protection laws against sexual abuse during the early days of the internet.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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