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Real Life (1979)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
23 March 1979 (USA) morePlot:
A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let he and his crew film their everyday lives... more | add synopsisUser Comments:
Albert the Great moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Dick Haynes | ... | Councilman Harris | |
| Albert Brooks | ... | Albert Brooks | |
| Matthew Tobin | ... | Dr. Howard Hill | |
| J.A. Preston | ... | Dr. Ted Cleary | |
| Joseph Schaffler | ... | Paul Lowell | |
| Phyllis Quinn | ... | Donna Stanley | |
| James Ritz | ... | Jack from Cincinnati | |
| Clifford Einstein | ... | Role Reversal Family Member | |
| Harry Einstein | ... | Role Reversal Family Member | |
| Mandy Einstein | ... | Role Reversal Family Member | |
| Karen Einstein | ... | Role Reversal Family Member | |
| James L. Brooks | ... | Driving Evaluator | |
| Zeke Manners | ... | Driver | |
| Charles Grodin | ... | Warren Yeager | |
| Frances Lee McCain | ... | Jeannette Yeager |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
99 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFilming Locations:
Phoenix, Arizona, USAFun Stuff
Quotes:
Martin Brand: [after one of Albert's rants] Albert, what the hell are you talking about? Look, let's not argue - say the family's fine, say the family's perfect. Let's talk about YOU for a minute. Look what YOU'VE done. You FAILED - that's what you did, you shmuck, you failed. You started out with this artsy-craftsy reality crap and what did you end up with... moreSoundtrack:
Tara THeme moreFAQ
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Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Real Life (1979)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| The Montage | semiretard |
| 'Real Life' trailer in 3D! | larry-618 |
| Reality TV begins here | BNJ61 |
| Ettnauer 226XL! | misternuvistor |
| way ahead of it's time | teejay6682 |
| Where is Lisa Urette? | uncapie |
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There's no question that Albert Brooks is not for everybody - his particular blend of neuroticism and egomania can be way too much for most people. But if you can get on his wavelength, and when he's at his best - oh man! There's absolutely no one better. Real Life is Brooks' best movie, and deserves to be more widely known than it is. His portrayal of a controlling producer, who is willing to violate not only broadcast ethics but the standards of decency and good sense as well in order to inject life into his failing "documentary" is frightening, off-putting and truly hilarious all at once.
When I first saw this movie, I didn't realize it was based on an actual television experiment. I bring this up only because when I first saw the film, I felt its only flaw was that it didn't spend enough time showing the family and their disintegration in front of the cameras, choosing instead to focus almost exclusively on Brooks and his manic responses to the dilemma this posed. However, knowing that the real life experiment would have already been familiar to people, Brooks clearly wanted to use this movie to examine not the family but the bankrupt commercial mindset which would put such a project into play in the first place. As such, his satire is dead on and nobody could more perfectly embody the entertainment industry than Brooks himself. Just to see him smarmily singing and glad-handing at the beginning is worth the cost.