The film began with promise. A nervous edgy guy is about to perform his stand-up routine at a comedy club for the first time. We get the impression he has nothing to lose. What has brought him to this point?
The rest of the film is flashbacks recalling his traumatic past, leading up to an improved present day situation until his incarcerated sister is paroled after 20 years and comes to live with him. Seems like she hasn't changed at all while he has.
The problem I had was not in the storyline but in the contrived writing. The sister was a one-dimensional character. She was rough and angry as a teenager and hasn't changed, becoming a bully toward her brother despite their so-called intense bond. He claims to love her, inviting her to stay with him upon her release from prison but later on tells her he doesn't love her anymore. Which is it?
The restaurant employers and employees are like a happy loving family. Every day is like a love fest. Difficult to relate to such an artificial situation. Employers don't generally treat their employees like family and vice versa.
Milo Ventimiglio's acting left much to be desired. He couldn't quite pull off the heavily emotional scenes. He was, however, great doing the stand-up routine a la Lenny Bruce.
The last part leading up to him deciding to go through with his performance strained credulity. He's just witnessed something extremely traumatic and then he runs off to perform. Very strange. Also very strange and very contrived were those two cops being the same guys from high school who used to torment Denny and his sister. Wow. Small world.
The rest of the film is flashbacks recalling his traumatic past, leading up to an improved present day situation until his incarcerated sister is paroled after 20 years and comes to live with him. Seems like she hasn't changed at all while he has.
The problem I had was not in the storyline but in the contrived writing. The sister was a one-dimensional character. She was rough and angry as a teenager and hasn't changed, becoming a bully toward her brother despite their so-called intense bond. He claims to love her, inviting her to stay with him upon her release from prison but later on tells her he doesn't love her anymore. Which is it?
The restaurant employers and employees are like a happy loving family. Every day is like a love fest. Difficult to relate to such an artificial situation. Employers don't generally treat their employees like family and vice versa.
Milo Ventimiglio's acting left much to be desired. He couldn't quite pull off the heavily emotional scenes. He was, however, great doing the stand-up routine a la Lenny Bruce.
The last part leading up to him deciding to go through with his performance strained credulity. He's just witnessed something extremely traumatic and then he runs off to perform. Very strange. Also very strange and very contrived were those two cops being the same guys from high school who used to torment Denny and his sister. Wow. Small world.