The Broadway musical, "Aspects of Love", proclaimed "Love Changes Everything", explaining that it makes fools of everyone, and boy, was that dong right. Without music, Albert Brooks does exactly that, having a midlife crisis when he breaks up with girlfriend Kathryn Harrold, then do desperately trying to get her back, expressing jealousy, screwing up at work, pursuing other romantic conquests he immediately regrets, then changing everything when he gets her back.
The genius in Brooks' films is that he is able to express the quirky and embarrassing sides of our life we couldn't write about if our final grade depended on it. He's like the L.A. version of Woody Allen, changing the trite style of dialog to real world conversation that almost makes the viewer feel that they are intruding in on private conversation.
I should mention that one sequence where Brooks goes into an athletic store to buy sneakers was repeated, practically in its entirety, in an episode of "The Golden Girls". A very funny sequence has Brooks trying to end a conversation with his mother and her attempt (unseen) to keep it going even though its obvious that he doesn't want to continue on the particular subject.
Cameos by George Kennedy and Meadowlark Lemon add to Brooks' career as a film editor, with Bruce Kirby as his assistant. Not all of the script covers the main plot, but it works, especially in detailing the life of a busy film editor. This is what is called a comedy of intellect, not meant for huge laughs, but providing bits of "I relate to that" smiles.
The genius in Brooks' films is that he is able to express the quirky and embarrassing sides of our life we couldn't write about if our final grade depended on it. He's like the L.A. version of Woody Allen, changing the trite style of dialog to real world conversation that almost makes the viewer feel that they are intruding in on private conversation.
I should mention that one sequence where Brooks goes into an athletic store to buy sneakers was repeated, practically in its entirety, in an episode of "The Golden Girls". A very funny sequence has Brooks trying to end a conversation with his mother and her attempt (unseen) to keep it going even though its obvious that he doesn't want to continue on the particular subject.
Cameos by George Kennedy and Meadowlark Lemon add to Brooks' career as a film editor, with Bruce Kirby as his assistant. Not all of the script covers the main plot, but it works, especially in detailing the life of a busy film editor. This is what is called a comedy of intellect, not meant for huge laughs, but providing bits of "I relate to that" smiles.