Movie Review: Standing Up, Falling Down Walks Straight To Your Heart

Directed by Matt Ratner and written by Peter Hoare, Standing Up, Falling Down is sweet, hilarious, and, most importantly wise. It makes light of disillusionment, particularly the most powerful, rampant disillusion of all: dreams. So many people have the same dream and think that they will achieve it, but whether you do or don’t, there is seemingly a time limit and even a reality check to each one.

Ben Schwartz plays the “lovable, yet you want to shake him” Scott; whom is hitting so many Millennial landmarks, my gut hurts. He is completely lost with his life because he “lost” his dream or, at least, his perceived path to it. We find committing a common, but heart-wrenching act amongst Millennials: he is moving back in with his parents. Yes, Hollywood is NOT calling for Scott, and thought he performs stand-up in his small town; jokes are hard to land when you look like a walking crash. He feels down, especially at seeing “the one that got away” Becky (Eloise Mumford). He left her thinking that he had to go off and make his big dreams come true…… now he can’t even dream. Enter Marty (Billy Crystal), who may not share his age, but does share Scott’s pain at having to live a life that not only feels failed but unhappy.
Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) – Official Trailer (HD)

Marty is a successful dermatologist with a really twisty sense of humor that is even Twitter approved. By all means, had any other actor played Marty, you would look at him like, “This guy is weird and needs to be reported.”(lol!) Yet, Billy Crystal is pure charm. He always gives his characters an indelible kindness and nobility, even when they are wrong and broken. He simply understands that our flaws don’t have to override our better or redemptive qualities, which is at the heartbeat of Marty and Scott’s building bromance. These are two guys that are VERY lonely with family members that either don’t understand them or literally don not talk to them. Hence, the audience falls for their friendships because the film is smart in making the pair feel like the only ones trying to have each other’s back.

I know I said that this was a film about learning to heal from broken dreams and promises, which it is. Yet, through Scott and Marty’s friendship viewers are able to see that, sometimes, you might only have one person in your corner, but that is enough until you learn how to get more, including yourself. Standing Up Falling Down is out on digital and select theaters Today!