(rated PG-13, 95 mins.)
A farce-type tribute to the art of the independent director, the fictional character Morty Fineman, portrayed in comic perfection by film veteran Jerry Stiller. In 35 years Morty has made hundreds of B films; more than any studio. His philosophy “I don’t make films to make money, I make money to make films.” And his gallery of really bad work shows it. “Mobey the Whale Cop’ has real life son Ben Stiller as a cop that’s half whale and speaks by making high pitched mammal sounds to a sobbing little boy who tells him “go on Moby,” (“Lassie” style), “go join the police force”. The officers stand nearby saluting Ben, who salutes back by spitting water through his teeth. There there’s “I See London, I See France” and let’s not forget “Brothers Divided” about Siamese twins – one loves Viet Nam and the other opposes, yet they are sent together to fight not by choice. They’re Siamese, remember. All of Morty’s stars either die or forget their lines yet amusing cameos by the likes of real life directors Ron Howard and Ted Demme remind us just how talented a man Morty really is! (Sidenote: Independent director Stephen Kessler is probably the only man alive who ever got Ron Howard to remove his ballcap). One actress interviewed in the movie hilariously admits “I know a lot of women who slept with Morty to become an actress but you really have to want to be an actress!” And so the jokes keep coming and never seem to stop. Anne Meara, (real life Jerry Stiller wife) plays Morty’s wife in the movie. Janeane Garafalo plays his stable daughter trying to convince Morty it’s time to retire as she struggles to budget the bounced check books. One of the most original and entertaining movies of the year, it premiered at the 2000 Nantucket Film Festival to a side-splitting laughter of audience I attended. With the recent Stiller fame/heat, it’s a good thing somebody finally picked up on this mini-masterpiece.
