WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 So when you hear the name Albert Brooks, what 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:05.960 pops into your head? Is it maybe that, you know, 00:00:05.980 --> 00:00:08.800 meticulously self -destructive film editor in 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.880 modern romance? Or maybe the voice of Marlon, 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.439 that panicked clownfish. Right. Screaming through 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:16.440 the ocean. Or, and this is the one that always 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.420 gets me, is it that stone -cold, genuinely terrifying 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:23.780 gangster from... Yeah, exactly. And it's precisely 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.899 that complexity, that shocking range, really, 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:28.839 that makes him such a fascinating subject for 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:31.120 a deep dive like this. We're talking about a 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.299 true multi -hyphenate. You're actor, writer, 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:36.780 director, voice artist. I mean, he built this 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:40.320 whole influential career playing anxious sort 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:42.060 of self -obsessed versions of himself. Right. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:44.159 That was his brand almost. Totally. And then, 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.899 boom, he just sheds that persona completely for 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.140 these chilling, really dramatic roles later on. 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:51.640 It was quite a turn. OK, so let's unpack this 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:53.719 a bit. Our mission today, then, is to trace the 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.340 path of Albert Lawrence Einstein. Yeah, that 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:58.079 was his birth. Which is a whole thing in itself. 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:00.899 Right. Absolutely. From being this young stand 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:05.200 up. who basically like helped invent and maybe 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.060 even kill traditional joke telling in the 70s 00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:11.859 to becoming this Academy Award nominated auteur 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:15.180 known for these really structured neurotic comedies. 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:17.519 Yeah. And then finally becoming this critical 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.500 darling when he took that unexpected dive into 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:22.959 dramatic acting. And we're drawing on, you know, 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:26.099 the sources detailing his huge filmography, both 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:28.420 directing and acting. The critical acclaim he 00:01:28.420 --> 00:01:30.739 got. Leather's Award. Exactly. And that really 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:33.519 distinctive filmmaking style he had. It helps 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:35.879 you understand why he's arguably one of the most 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:39.420 influential but maybe subtly celebrated comedic 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:42.079 and cinematic minds of the last, what, 50 years. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:44.879 A real comedian's comedian and a filmmaker's 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:47.099 filmmaker. Definitely. Okay, so grab your director's 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:48.980 chair. Try not to get too anxious about your 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:50.959 life choices because we are diving deep into 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.060 the world of Albert Brooks. You know, when people 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:55.219 talk about being born into show business, Albert 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:57.239 Brooks wasn't just, like, neary. He was really 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:59.819 born into a proper show business dynasty. Oh, 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:01.819 absolutely. He arrived Albert Lawrence Einstein, 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:06.819 July 22, 1947, Beverly Hills, California. And 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:10.379 the family was Jewish, deeply embedded in like 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:12.860 the top tiers of the entertainment world. It 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:15.099 was a real legacy, wasn't it? Performance, storytelling. 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:18.780 It went back decades. The comedy gene was strong, 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:20.960 that's for sure. His father was Harry Einstein, 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.879 the famous radio comic, known professionally 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.419 as Parkeakarkas, right? Yeah, with that thick 00:02:26.419 --> 00:02:29.780 accent persona. He was huge on Eddie Cantor's 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:32.099 radio program. Which was massive back then. We're 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.849 talking... Old school vaudeville style mainstream 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:37.330 American comedy. And it wasn't just the dad. 00:02:37.469 --> 00:02:39.169 The talent really spread through the family. 00:02:39.270 --> 00:02:41.550 His older brother was Bob Einstein. Super Dave 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:45.629 Osborne. Exactly. And also the hilariously deadpan 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:47.870 Marty Funkhauser on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then 00:02:47.870 --> 00:02:49.949 you've got his older half brother, Charles Einstein. 00:02:50.189 --> 00:02:52.610 He was a serious writer for those acclaimed golden 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:55.050 age TV shows like Playhouse 90 and Lou Grant. 00:02:55.270 --> 00:02:57.849 So, yeah, imagine growing up in that house. Comedy 00:02:57.849 --> 00:03:00.370 and drama were probably just the everyday language. 00:03:00.569 --> 00:03:04.500 The pressure. Yeah. And growing up there, Southern 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.960 California, Beverly Hills High with guys like 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.180 Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Reiner. Right. Future 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:12.199 collaborators, classmates. It all points to a 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:15.439 life just steeped in performance and probably 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:18.360 the constant analysis of performance. What's 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:20.280 interesting, though, is that he seemed to know 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:24.180 pretty early on that his dad's path or even his 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:27.300 brother's path, that traditional route wasn't 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:29.259 for him. Yeah, he had ambition. You could see 00:03:29.259 --> 00:03:33.539 that. But it was tied to. This real desire for, 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.479 like, total self -determination. Yeah. Doing 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:38.599 it his way. Right. He did a year at Carnegie 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:40.780 Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon now. 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.099 With Michael McKeon and David L. Lander, future 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.379 co -stars. But he dropped out after just one 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:48.740 year. Made a very clear choice. Comedy, full 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:51.539 -time, but on his own terms. And part of those 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:53.979 terms was the name. He knew he couldn't really 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:56.379 pioneer the kind of comedy he was envisioning. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:59.319 as Albert Lawrence Einstein, not just because 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.120 of the other Albert Einstein. Yeah, that might 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:03.199 have been slightly confusing. Just a bit. So 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:05.460 by age 19, he changes his professional name to 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:08.039 Albert Brooks. And the story behind that name 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.000 change, the joke he tells, it's perfect Brooks, 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:12.900 right? It sums up that ironic persona he was 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:15.759 building. Absolutely. The sources quote him joking 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:19.100 that he changed it because the real Albert Einstein 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:22.519 changed his name to sound more intelligent. Classic. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:26.250 That self -referential humor. using his own identity, 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:29.980 the context of fame itself as the material, That 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:32.300 was the bedrock of his whole approach. And that 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:34.959 leads right into what the sources call his pioneering 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.240 work in postmodern comedy. He started popping 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:40.980 up everywhere on talk shows, variety shows, late 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.779 60s, early 70s. But his stage act was totally 00:04:43.779 --> 00:04:45.779 different. Revolutionary for the time. Completely. 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:47.680 It was the opposite of the set -up punchline 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.379 stuff his dad's generation perfected. His early 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:53.040 persona was this like egotistical, narcissistic, 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.579 but also deeply nervous comic. He wasn't just 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:58.509 telling jokes. No. He was performing the failure 00:04:58.509 --> 00:05:00.290 of the performance. Yeah. He was playing this 00:05:00.290 --> 00:05:03.110 ironic showbiz insider who's basically taking 00:05:03.110 --> 00:05:05.250 apart the whole machinery of stage comedy right 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:07.750 there on stage. Okay, break that down. What does 00:05:07.750 --> 00:05:10.290 disassembling comedic stagecraft actually look 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:12.519 like in practice? Well, instead of doing, say, 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:14.879 five minutes of jokes, Brooks might spend the 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:16.379 whole time complaining about the microphone. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.399 Or he'd introduce some elaborate bit, then just 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:21.500 stop mid -sentence saying it was too commercial 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:24.120 or something. He was playing a version of himself 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.620 who knew exactly how TV comedy worked, was sort 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:30.459 of disgusted by it, but also desperately wanted 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:33.579 its approval. That meta approach, questioning 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:37.180 the authenticity of the performance itself, that 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:39.600 was brand new. Ground zero for the next wave. 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:43.579 It paved the way conceptually, stylistically 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.720 for guys who came right after him. Like who? 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.180 Well, the sources point to him as a major influence 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:51.459 on people like Steve Martin, you know, his highly 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:54.319 stylized anti -joke persona. Right. Martin Mull, 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:57.120 who really leaned into that performance of irony. 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:00.160 And maybe most radically, Andy Kaufman. Kaufman's 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.160 whole thing was blurring the line between what 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.699 was real and what was performance art. And Brooks 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:06.980 was doing that early on, making the anxiety, 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:10.079 the self -analysis the main event. Exactly. It's 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:12.740 telling, too, that his one brief attempt at traditional 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:15.600 network writing was a complete disaster. Oh, 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:18.560 yeah. That ABC show Turn On. The infamous one. 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:22.120 Cancelled after a single episode in 1969. Just 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.860 completely bombed. Wow. But maybe that spectacular 00:06:24.860 --> 00:06:27.500 failure was actually a good thing for him. It 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:29.259 probably just solidified his need to control 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:32.300 his own work, write, direct, star. become the 00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:34.939 auteur before he jumped fully into films though 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:37.720 he had real success with audio which gave him 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:40.259 that control he put out two comedy albums right 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:43.300 comedy minus one in 73 that was live and a star 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:46.069 is bought in 75 the studio one That caught a 00:06:46.069 --> 00:06:48.129 Grammy nomination. Yeah, those albums proved 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:50.649 his kind of brainy, deconstructive style could 00:06:50.649 --> 00:06:52.790 actually find an audience. And the move to film 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:54.610 was already starting with shorts. He directed 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:56.670 the famous Comedian School. That satiric short, 00:06:56.829 --> 00:07:00.089 yeah. Aired on PBS way back in 72. Critics called 00:07:00.089 --> 00:07:02.389 it an early mockumentary. In that format, the 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:04.920 satirical short, The Mockumentary. It was perfect 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.660 for NBC. Between 75 and 76, he directed six short 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:11.319 films for the very first season of Saturday Night 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:13.860 Live. Wow, right at the beginning of SNL. Yeah. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:16.699 He was already establishing his cinematic voice, 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.540 packing these complex satirical ideas into tight 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.019 visual forms, even before most people thought 00:07:22.019 --> 00:07:24.529 of him as a feature filmmaker. So after basically 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:27.089 revolutionizing meta -comedy on stage and with 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:29.569 those early shorts, Brooks pretty much leaves 00:07:29.569 --> 00:07:33.230 the stand -up world behind. He pivots fully to 00:07:33.230 --> 00:07:35.290 filmmaking. Yeah, it felt like a necessary step. 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:38.009 His comedy was so cerebral, so much about performing 00:07:38.009 --> 00:07:40.629 the process, he really needed the total control 00:07:40.629 --> 00:07:42.709 you get in the director's chair. And his first 00:07:42.709 --> 00:07:45.870 feature, Real Life, from 1979, that's really 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:48.629 the start of this auteur phase, isn't it? And 00:07:48.629 --> 00:07:50.949 it's incredibly prescient. Oh, absolutely. A 00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:53.639 masterclass in foresight. He co -wrote it with 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:56.740 Harry Shearer and Monica Johnson. His longtime 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:59.399 collaborator. Right. And it was a direct, really 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:03.199 pointed parody of that famous 70s PBS documentary, 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:06.720 An American Family. And Brooks stars as this, 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.620 like, fictionalized, puffed up version of himself. 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:12.600 Albert Brooks, the filmmaker, documenting a suburban 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:14.819 family in Phoenix. Trying to win an Oscar and 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:17.339 a Nobel Prize, which is just perfectly narcissistic. 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:20.459 Hilarious. But what's crucial, as the sources 00:08:20.459 --> 00:08:23.639 really stress, is how much critics saw that film 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:27.189 as predicting the rise of reality TV. Decades 00:08:27.189 --> 00:08:29.029 before it happened. Yeah, way before the real 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:30.970 world or anything like that. How did it predict 00:08:30.970 --> 00:08:32.730 it, though? It's more than just filming a family, 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:35.509 right? Definitely. The film totally dissects 00:08:35.509 --> 00:08:38.029 the sort of Faustian bargain of reality programming. 00:08:38.570 --> 00:08:40.870 Brooks' character isn't just observing. He's 00:08:40.870 --> 00:08:43.269 manipulative. He's self -serving. He interferes. 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:46.250 Constantly. He intrudes. He changes things. He 00:08:46.250 --> 00:08:48.750 deliberately creates drama when the family's 00:08:48.750 --> 00:08:51.559 reality isn't. juicy enough for the camera. He 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:53.759 even says he needs drama to win his awards. Which 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.320 is exactly how modern reality TV often works. 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:58.740 The producer's agenda, the subject's wanting 00:08:58.740 --> 00:09:02.500 fame. Exactly. Real life show that narcissistic 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:04.580 intrusion, the camera changing everything, the 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:08.620 inherent lack of reality in reality TV. It nailed 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.279 it. And that basic setup, the self -aware, super 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.679 neurotic guy at the center of some satirical 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:16.360 social commentary that really defined his directing 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:18.120 work for the next couple decades, didn't it? 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.620 Yeah, through the 80s and 90s, he consistently 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:23.679 co -wrote, mostly with Monica Johnson, directed 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:26.120 and starred in these comedies, playing variations 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.940 on that theme. The neurotic, self -obsessed character. 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:32.019 But we have to talk about his actual filmmaking 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:34.480 style because it wasn't just about the character 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.700 comedy. Critics describe it as like discreet, 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.860 unemphatic, a light touch. Yeah, which sounds 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:43.200 almost anti -Hollywood, doesn't it? Yeah. Discreet 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.480 and unemphatic. So what does that actually look 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:47.679 like on screen? Well, it's all the classical 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:51.259 precision economy. Instead of, say, dramatic 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:54.399 close -ups or flashy editing, Brooks tended to 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:56.860 shoot scenes in these smooth, seamless medium 00:09:56.860 --> 00:09:59.460 shots. And the lighting is usually very clean, 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:02.720 high -key, bright, almost unremarkable, like 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:05.139 you'd find in an office or a kitchen. The camera 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:07.460 itself rarely calls attention to itself. So the 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:09.580 visual style is very controlled, almost mundane. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:12.570 Exactly. Which creates this... hilarious contrast 00:10:12.570 --> 00:10:14.230 with the character he's playing, who's usually 00:10:14.230 --> 00:10:16.830 having some kind of volcanic emotional meltdown 00:10:16.830 --> 00:10:19.090 internally. Right. The visual world is normal, 00:10:19.149 --> 00:10:21.730 but the protagonist is falling apart. Makes the 00:10:21.730 --> 00:10:24.669 neurosis seem funnier, maybe pettier. Profoundly 00:10:24.669 --> 00:10:27.330 funny. Yeah. So the first of these full auteur 00:10:27.330 --> 00:10:30.710 films after real life was Modern Romance in 1981. 00:10:31.070 --> 00:10:33.929 He plays Robert Cole, this film editor who's 00:10:33.929 --> 00:10:36.129 just desperately obsessed with winning back his 00:10:36.129 --> 00:10:38.730 ex -girlfriend. Oh, that film is intense. Almost 00:10:38.730 --> 00:10:42.429 painfully so. It's a deep dive into toxic relationship 00:10:42.429 --> 00:10:45.629 anxiety. Phenomenal film, but yet painful. And 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:47.610 commercially, it really struggled. Got a limited 00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:50.470 release. Grossed less than $3 million in the 00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:53.110 U .S. Wow. It sort of highlighted the challenge 00:10:53.110 --> 00:10:56.179 for Brooks. You know, his stuff was often maybe 00:10:56.179 --> 00:10:58.639 too specific, too personal, maybe too unsettling 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.620 for a really wide audience, even though the critics 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:02.419 got what he was doing. But the audience that 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:05.399 did connect really connected. And his next film, 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:07.460 Lost in America in 85, that one really landed. 00:11:07.460 --> 00:11:09.679 It's widely seen as his best received film, right? 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:12.679 A classic 80s satire. Absolutely. Quintessential. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.419 Co -starring Julie Haggerty. It's that satirical 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:19.080 road movie about Dave and Linda Howard. The yuppie 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:21.320 couple. Yeah, comfortable yuppies who chuck their 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.320 high -paying jobs to drop out, find the real 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.940 America in a Winnebago. And that dream implodes 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:28.659 almost instantly. Immediately. Brooks' character, 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:30.700 David, gets them to Furnace Creek, California 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.620 and promptly loses their entire life savings. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.740 The nest egg playing craps in Vegas. Oh, God. 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:39.590 The rest of the film is this brilliant kind of 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:43.370 cynical look at how fragile that whole yuppie 00:11:43.370 --> 00:11:46.169 idealism, the American dream, really is when 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.269 it hits actual hardship. And it got recognized 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:50.250 for that insight, didn't it? Won the National 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:52.850 Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay. 00:11:52.970 --> 00:11:55.049 Yeah, he shared that with Monica Johnson. A big 00:11:55.049 --> 00:11:57.750 win. Then he followed that up with maybe one 00:11:57.750 --> 00:11:59.789 of the most brilliantly weird premises ever. 00:12:00.350 --> 00:12:03.210 Defending Your Life in 1991. Oh, fantastic film. 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:05.570 The setup alone. His character, Daniel Miller, 00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:08.309 dies and ends up in this place called Judgment 00:12:08.309 --> 00:12:10.809 City, basically on trial in the afterlife, to 00:12:10.809 --> 00:12:13.669 justify all his human fears and decide his cosmic 00:12:13.669 --> 00:12:16.070 fate. It let him take all those classic Brookshan 00:12:16.070 --> 00:12:19.350 themes, fear, self -doubt, inadequacy, and blow 00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:22.169 them up to a cosmic scale, but framed as bureaucracy. 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:26.389 Exactly. The whole idea is that human fear is 00:12:26.389 --> 00:12:28.899 like... measurable and you're held accountable 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:32.200 for it. Judgment City operates like this giant, 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.039 slightly tedious corporate retreat or performance 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.799 review center. Turning existential dread into 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.279 paperwork. Yes. Mocking how petty our anxieties 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.960 are by giving them this grand administrative 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:47.500 setting. It's genius. And besides the concept, 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:50.379 critics really love the chemistry between Brooks 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:52.440 and Meryl Streep. Oh, absolutely. She played 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:55.120 Julia, his love interest in the afterlife, their 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.240 warmth. gave the film this huge heart, balanced 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.940 out the philosophical stuff, really strong critical 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:03.279 response to them together. Okay, jumping ahead 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:05.899 a bit to 96, he goes back to the very personal 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.200 relationship well with mother. Right. He plays 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:10.840 John Henderson, a middle -aged writer. Sounds 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:12.990 familiar. Doesn't it? who moves back home to 00:13:12.990 --> 00:13:15.090 sort out all the deep -seated issues with his 00:13:15.090 --> 00:13:17.129 mother, played by the great Debbie Reynolds. 00:13:17.389 --> 00:13:19.909 And this film really cemented his reputation 00:13:19.909 --> 00:13:22.870 as a writer, got him more major awards. Yeah. 00:13:22.929 --> 00:13:25.169 He and Monica Johnson won the National Society 00:13:25.169 --> 00:13:27.409 of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay again. 00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:29.850 That's two wins from that group. And they also 00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:32.009 got the New York Film Critics Circle Award for 00:13:32.009 --> 00:13:35.570 Best Screenplay. Just consistently smart, witty, 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:38.649 insightful writing about how messed up we all 00:13:38.649 --> 00:13:40.929 are with our families. The sources point out 00:13:40.929 --> 00:13:43.210 how even when his characters are successful, 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.090 like John Henderson being a writer, they still 00:13:46.090 --> 00:13:48.789 circle back to those core conflicts. External 00:13:48.789 --> 00:13:51.509 success doesn't fix internal anxiety. Especially 00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:53.750 mother -related anxiety, apparently. Right. And 00:13:53.750 --> 00:13:56.669 his dedication to satirizing his own career, 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.309 the industry, it continued right up to his 2005 00:13:59.309 --> 00:14:02.149 film, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. 00:14:02.330 --> 00:14:04.830 Yeah, another one where he plays a fictionalized 00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:07.549 Albert Brooks. This time, he's commissioned by 00:14:07.549 --> 00:14:09.330 the U .S. government to go figure out what made 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:11.659 him makes Muslim people laugh. So he tours India 00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:15.080 and Pakistan. That sounds brave, conceptually 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:17.740 at least. Incredibly brave conceptually. He was 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:19.940 trying to satirize the American government's 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:22.700 kind of clueless patronizing approach to complex 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:25.279 foreign cultures, all filtered through his character's 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:28.360 usual narcissism. But it hit. immediate controversy 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:30.980 how so well the sources say sony pictures actually 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:32.799 dropped the film because they wanted him to change 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.919 the title they were just scared of the subject 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:36.960 matter even though the satire was aimed at the 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.899 american perspective wow so who released it warner 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:42.539 independent pictures eventually picked it up 00:14:42.809 --> 00:14:45.389 but they only gave it a limited release. He got 00:14:45.389 --> 00:14:47.230 pretty mixed reviews, didn't make much money. 00:14:47.330 --> 00:14:50.090 It really shows how even a respected auteur like 00:14:50.090 --> 00:14:53.049 Brooks can hit a wall when the satire gets too 00:14:53.049 --> 00:14:55.389 close to sensitive political areas, even if the 00:14:55.389 --> 00:14:58.049 joke is really on the Americans. Okay, so while 00:14:58.049 --> 00:15:00.929 Brooks is busy being this auteur, writing, directing, 00:15:01.250 --> 00:15:04.269 starring in his own unique films, he's also building 00:15:04.269 --> 00:15:07.210 this really impressive parallel career just as 00:15:07.210 --> 00:15:10.049 an actor in other people's movies. Yeah, and 00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:11.889 often playing roles that were quite different 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:13.960 from... his neurotic persona, sometimes broader, 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:17.100 sometimes much darker. The foundation for that 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.820 goes way back, doesn't it, to Martin Scorsese's 00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:23.200 Taxi Driver in 1976. That's right. His first 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.039 mainstream film role. He played Tom, the campaign 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:28.320 worker who interacts with Travis Bickle. And 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.539 what's amazing is the sources are clear. Scorsese 00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:34.639 let Brooks improvise a lot of his dialogue. Wow, 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:37.960 in a Scorsese film? That's huge trust. Shows 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.059 how much respect people had for his comedic timing 00:15:40.059 --> 00:15:42.039 and intelligence, even in a serious drama like 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:44.820 that. Definitely. He also popped up in other 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:48.000 early hits like Private Benjamin in 1980 and 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.799 Unfaithfully Yours in 84. And we can't forget 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.299 that small but genuinely creepy cameo in the 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:57.279 prologue of Twilight Zone, the movie in 83. Oh, 00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.980 yeah. Playing the driver with Dan Aykroyd as 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:04.100 the passenger. That ending. Shudder. Right. So. 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:06.039 He showed he could fit into different genres. 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.220 But his acting career really hit a peak, at least 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:11.899 in terms of awards, with James L. Brooks' Film 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:15.100 No Relation broadcast news in 1987. That's where 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:16.960 he got his Oscar nomination. His only one, right? 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:18.840 Best Supporting Actor. That's the one. He played 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:20.960 Aaron Altman, that super insecure but incredibly 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.029 ethical TV news reporter. caught in that love 00:16:24.029 --> 00:16:26.090 triangle. It felt like an evolution of the Bro's 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:28.990 character, maybe. Still neurotic, but channeled 00:16:28.990 --> 00:16:31.750 into professional anxiety, media ethics. He was 00:16:31.750 --> 00:16:34.230 fantastic in it. Won the Boston Society of Film 00:16:34.230 --> 00:16:36.629 Critics Award for Best Actor, too. And Aaron 00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:38.970 Allman's whole struggle, right? Being the smart, 00:16:39.049 --> 00:16:43.009 talented guy, losing out to the handsome, maybe 00:16:43.009 --> 00:16:45.769 less qualified, but more charismatic Tom, played 00:16:45.769 --> 00:16:48.409 by William Hurt. It mirrored his early stage 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:51.509 persona perfectly. The smart outsider desperate 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:54.090 for validation. Exactly. And the source material 00:16:54.090 --> 00:16:55.950 highlights that famous line from the film, which 00:16:55.950 --> 00:16:58.629 is just pure Brookian philosophy. Aaron asks, 00:16:58.809 --> 00:17:01.330 wouldn't this be a great world if insecurity 00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:04.130 and desperation made us more attractive? Oof. 00:17:04.470 --> 00:17:08.069 Yeah. That cuts deep. So as his own directing 00:17:08.069 --> 00:17:10.470 work maybe slowed a bit in the late 90s, his 00:17:10.470 --> 00:17:12.950 supporting roles really started to diversify. 00:17:13.289 --> 00:17:16.130 It feels like he was actively looking for parts 00:17:16.130 --> 00:17:18.950 that played against that nervous, nice guy type 00:17:18.950 --> 00:17:21.259 he built. Like what? Well, a key example is playing 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:23.500 Richard Ripley, that untrustworthy banker and 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:25.460 ex -con in Soderbergh's out -of -sight in 98. 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:28.039 He got great reviews for that. It was a subtle 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:30.500 shift, but definitely toward less likable characters. 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:33.079 Okay. He also got good notices from My First 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:35.759 Mister in 2001, playing a dying store owner who 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:37.599 connects with a cynical teenager. He even did 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.359 some TV, right? Like on Weeds. Yeah, four episodes 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.559 back in 2008. He played Lenny Botwin, Nancy's 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:45.920 estranged, really cynical father -in -law. But 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.509 then... Then we get the massive shift, the one 00:17:48.509 --> 00:17:50.990 that kind of blew everyone away. His role in 00:17:50.990 --> 00:17:55.059 the 2011 action film Drive. Oh, man. Drive. Playing 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.579 the antagonist, Bernie Rose. Veteran gangster. 00:17:57.859 --> 00:17:59.960 This wasn't just a slight shift. This was a complete 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.799 180. He wasn't just playing tough. He was genuinely 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:07.160 scary. Yeah, that combination. He had this benign, 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.900 almost grandfatherly vibe, but then these shocking 00:18:09.900 --> 00:18:13.099 bursts of just calculated ice -cold violence. 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:15.980 The image of Albert Brooks, Mr. Neurotic Comedy, 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:19.019 committing these brutal clinical murders. It 00:18:19.019 --> 00:18:21.119 was jarring. In the best way possible, though, 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:22.920 critically speaking. Oh, the critical praise 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.880 was insane. Immediate, overwhelming, almost unanimous. 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:27.799 For the first time, really, Brooks was winning 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:30.240 major dramatic Best Supporting Actor awards everywhere. 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:32.579 It proved he could totally transform. And the 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:34.859 sheer number of awards was staggering. The sources 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:37.480 list them off. He basically swept the critic 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:40.740 circuit that year. National Society of Film Critics, 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:44.200 New York Film Critics Circle, Chicago, Florida, 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:48.839 Houston, Boston, San Francisco. Satellite Awards. 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:50.900 I mean, the list goes on. He was the critics' 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:52.859 choice, no question. Which, of course, makes 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:55.539 the famous Oscar snub even more baffling. Right. 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.180 After winning practically every precursor award 00:18:58.180 --> 00:19:00.799 from critics' groups across the map, he doesn't 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:02.940 even get an Academy Award nomination for Drive. 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:04.980 Still talked about. Why do you think that happened? 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:07.299 Well, the analysis at the time pointed to a couple 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:09.920 of things. One, the Academy sometimes struggles 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:12.309 with comedians doing serious drama. They almost 00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:14.289 see it as a novelty act sometimes. Right. And 00:19:14.289 --> 00:19:16.930 two, Drive itself was pretty stylized, pretty 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:20.250 violent, a neo -noir genre film. And those kinds 00:19:20.250 --> 00:19:22.869 of movies often face a bit of systemic bias in 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:24.910 the major Oscar categories. And Brooks' reaction 00:19:24.910 --> 00:19:28.210 to the snub was just perfect, Brooks. Oh, classic. 00:19:28.750 --> 00:19:31.549 He tweeted, kind of echoing Sally Field's famous 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:33.769 Oscar speech, but twisting it through his own 00:19:33.769 --> 00:19:36.470 anxious lens. And the Academy, you don't like 00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:39.309 me. You really don't like me. Even playing a 00:19:39.309 --> 00:19:42.170 killer gangster, that core persona. The anxious, 00:19:42.390 --> 00:19:45.549 overlooked insider feeling slighted somehow managed 00:19:45.549 --> 00:19:49.309 to peek through. Hilarious. It really did. And 00:19:49.309 --> 00:19:51.990 we absolutely cannot skip over his huge success 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:54.789 in voice acting, which maybe offers the most 00:19:54.789 --> 00:19:57.630 transformative freedom while still using that 00:19:57.630 --> 00:20:00.569 signature anxiety. Marlon. The dad clownfish 00:20:00.569 --> 00:20:04.210 in Pixar's Finding Nemo. Exactly. From 2003 and 00:20:04.210 --> 00:20:07.450 then the sequel Finding Dory in 2016. That role 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:09.910 was perfect casting. Totally. Marlon is defined 00:20:09.910 --> 00:20:13.210 by crippling parental neurosis. fear, anxiety. 00:20:13.549 --> 00:20:16.609 All the qualities Brooks spent a lifetime perfecting 00:20:16.609 --> 00:20:19.130 in live action. He just took that internal struggle 00:20:19.130 --> 00:20:21.329 and mapped it perfectly onto this animated fish, 00:20:21.490 --> 00:20:24.009 making Marlon feel frantic, but also really grounded 00:20:24.009 --> 00:20:26.049 and believable. He also voiced Tiberius, right, 00:20:26.210 --> 00:20:28.710 the grumpy hawk in The Secret Life of Pets in 00:20:28.710 --> 00:20:30.829 2016. Yeah, though he couldn't do the sequel, 00:20:30.930 --> 00:20:33.869 apparently. But arguably his most celebrated 00:20:33.869 --> 00:20:36.170 voice work, at least for animation nerds, is 00:20:36.170 --> 00:20:38.410 his stuff on The Simpsons. Credited just as A. 00:20:38.450 --> 00:20:41.549 Brooks. Always modest. Seven appearances. IGN 00:20:41.549 --> 00:20:43.589 called him the best guest star in the show's 00:20:43.589 --> 00:20:45.809 history, which is saying something for The Simpsons. 00:20:45.890 --> 00:20:48.109 That's huge praise. Mostly for Hank Scorpio, 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:50.690 right? Primarily, yeah. That iconic, super friendly 00:20:50.690 --> 00:20:53.450 supervillain from the You Only Move Twice episode 00:20:53.450 --> 00:20:56.589 in 96. Yeah. Just magnetic. And then he came 00:20:56.589 --> 00:20:58.910 back as Russ Cargill, the main villain in The 00:20:58.910 --> 00:21:01.390 Simpsons movie in 2007. Hank Scorpio is just 00:21:01.390 --> 00:21:03.670 a masterclass. He's somehow the nicest, most 00:21:03.670 --> 00:21:06.609 supportive boss Homer ever had. while also being 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:09.230 a Bond -level megalomaniac trying to take over 00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:12.470 the world. Brooks fuses that charm with Menace 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:15.230 brilliantly. It's almost like a dry run for the 00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:17.490 Bernie -Rose duality in Drive. That's a great 00:21:17.490 --> 00:21:19.190 point. His voice work alone shaves incredible 00:21:19.190 --> 00:21:21.650 range. Totally. And he kept taking interesting 00:21:21.650 --> 00:21:24.029 supporting roles after Drive, too. He was in 00:21:24.029 --> 00:21:27.710 Judd Apatow's This Is 40 in 2012, a most violent 00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:30.109 year in 2014, playing that sharp lawyer Andrew 00:21:30.109 --> 00:21:32.750 Walsh. And he played the controversial pathologist 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:36.029 Cyril Wecht in Concussion in 2015. Still mixing 00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:38.349 it up. So in more recent years, Brooks hasn't 00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:40.430 just stuck to acting. He's kept exploring other 00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:42.710 creative avenues, showing that his core themes, 00:21:42.829 --> 00:21:45.210 you know, social critique, anxiety, the modern 00:21:45.210 --> 00:21:47.950 condition can translate beyond the screen. Yeah, 00:21:48.009 --> 00:21:50.740 like moving into literature. In 2011, the same 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:52.599 year Drive came out. Actually, he published his 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:56.359 first novel, 2030, the real story of what happens 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.240 to America. Right. Taking that Brooksian satire 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:02.279 and observation into long form fiction. Exactly. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:05.759 Tackling big future issues like aging populations, 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:09.079 economic shifts. It really reads like a Brooks 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:11.640 movie, just in book form. Same sensibilities. 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:13.759 And for anyone wanting a really comprehensive 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:17.319 personal look at his whole life and career, 2023 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:20.140 was a big year with the release of that documentary, 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:22.839 Albert Brooks. Defending my life. Yeah, that 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:24.680 was great. And what's really cool about it is 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:27.039 that it was directed by Rob Reiner. His friend 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:29.359 and high school classmate. Exactly. Someone who 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:31.799 literally saw his entire journey from Beverly 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:34.000 Hills High to the stand -up revolution and beyond. 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:36.980 It really underscores how woven into the fabric 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:39.450 of American comedy history Brooks is. It's a 00:22:39.450 --> 00:22:41.990 fantastic resource. Great interviews with just 00:22:41.990 --> 00:22:44.730 a stellar list of people. David Letterman, Sharon 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:47.190 Stone, Larry David, James L. Brooks, Conan O 00:22:47.190 --> 00:22:49.490 'Brien, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller. Yeah, it 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:51.849 really shows the immense respect he has within 00:22:51.849 --> 00:22:54.490 the industry. These are heavy hitters singing 00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.009 his praises. And after the documentary came out, 00:22:57.049 --> 00:22:59.750 Brooks even went on Marc Maron's podcast, WTF, 00:23:00.049 --> 00:23:02.009 later that November. Right. Sharing even more 00:23:02.009 --> 00:23:04.490 stories, adding context. So there's plenty out 00:23:04.490 --> 00:23:06.289 there now for fans who really want to understand 00:23:06.289 --> 00:23:09.410 the guy who turned anxiety. into an art form. 00:23:09.549 --> 00:23:11.630 And just on a personal note, the sources mentioned 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:14.109 he married the artist Kimberly Schlain, daughter 00:23:14.109 --> 00:23:17.410 of surgeon Leonard Schlain back in 97. They have 00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:20.109 two kids, Jacob and Claire, live in Santa Monica. 00:23:20.450 --> 00:23:23.269 Still close to the industry, but maybe maintaining 00:23:23.269 --> 00:23:25.329 that little bit of distance an observer needs, 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:27.990 especially a professional neurotic observer like 00:23:27.990 --> 00:23:31.329 Brooks. So wrapping this all up, when you look 00:23:31.329 --> 00:23:34.140 back at this incredible... Kind of weird trajectory. 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:37.180 You've got a guy who starts by tearing down stand 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:39.640 -up comedy from the inside. Right. Evolves into 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:42.660 this auteur director, creating these deeply personal, 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:46.559 perfectly crafted films, satirizing the American 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.660 dream gone wrong. Like the immediate failure 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:51.759 in Lost in America. Total collapse of the fantasy. 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:55.559 And then completely out of left field, he transforms 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.539 into this genuinely terrifying, dramatic actor 00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:01.339 in Drive. Yeah. But the thread connecting it 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:04.339 all, I think, is his incredible ability to make 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:07.480 uncomfortable things, whether it's deep psychological 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:11.170 neurosis, professional desperation, or... even 00:24:11.170 --> 00:24:13.930 chilling evil feel intensely real and somehow 00:24:13.930 --> 00:24:16.190 relatable his own films where he's playing john 00:24:16.190 --> 00:24:18.950 henderson or david howard they feel like thinly 00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:21.210 veiled versions of himself wrestling with anxiety 00:24:21.210 --> 00:24:23.710 right it's the comedy of discomfort built into 00:24:23.710 --> 00:24:26.069 the film's dna definitely and that brings up 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:27.630 a really interesting question doesn't it especially 00:24:27.630 --> 00:24:30.009 in today's world where everyone's a multi -hyphenate 00:24:30.009 --> 00:24:32.569 doing everything how much of a performer's real 00:24:32.569 --> 00:24:35.450 self is revealed in that highly stylized fictional 00:24:35.450 --> 00:24:37.829 work the auteur brooks minding his own fears 00:24:37.829 --> 00:24:41.009 versus how much is hidden or maybe be even transformed 00:24:41.009 --> 00:24:43.650 when they go for a total departure, like playing 00:24:43.650 --> 00:24:45.869 Bernie Rose or even voicing Marlon the Clownfish. 00:24:46.069 --> 00:24:48.589 It makes you think that maybe Brooks found his 00:24:48.589 --> 00:24:51.269 artistic freedom not just by playing versions 00:24:51.269 --> 00:24:54.670 of himself, but by showing that the energy behind 00:24:54.670 --> 00:24:57.789 that anxiety, that intelligence could fuel characters 00:24:57.789 --> 00:25:00.490 all across the spectrum from the guy literally 00:25:00.490 --> 00:25:03.210 defending his failures in the afterlife. Right. 00:25:03.369 --> 00:25:06.599 To the guy capable of just. shocking, calculated 00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:09.420 violence. Maybe the true identity isn't the persona, 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:11.339 but the sheer capacity for that transformation 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:14.019 itself. That's a great way to put it. Well, we 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:17.079 absolutely encourage you, the listener, to seek 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.400 out those two National Society of Film Critics 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:21.299 award -winning screenplays he co -wrote with 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:23.339 Monica Johnson, Go Watch Lost in America from 00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:26.579 1985 and Mother from 1996. Yeah, you'll really 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:29.759 see that distinctive, discreet, but devastatingly 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.599 funny auteur style he perfected. They hold up 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:33.259 incredibly well.