Standing Up, Falling Down Starring Billy Crystal, Ben Schwartz, Eloise Mumford Directed by Matt Ratner

An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A., forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs, and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the “failures” in their lives.

I sat down to watch this with some trepidation. Billy Crystal hasn’t been on the scene for a while and I was half expecting a bit of a car-crash, but thee of little faith. He was amazing and the script and direction as good.

There’re few buddy-love movies like this; original, quick witted and sharp dialogue with great acting (Billy Crystal’s attempt at being genuinely tearful aside) it was an unexpected re-rise to fame for a world-class comedian and his co-stars.

Verdict: 91 minutes of pure joy. *****

This film can be seen on Amazon Prime