Ben and Billy help lift 'Standing Up' enough to make sure it rarely falls down

Friday, February 21, 2020

Ben and Billy help lift 'Standing Up' enough to make sure it rarely falls down

Schwartz and Crystal play a pair of newfound pals in some regular old digs.

Many laughs, maybe a few tears, and an assortment of real people fill a quick 90 minutes of screen time in "Standing Up, Falling Down," a warm little film trying to find an audience in theaters around the country (including Tower City Cinemas in northeast Ohio).

It teams relative youngster Ben Schwartz (now also providing the movie voice of "Sonic the Hedgehog") with ever-irresistible senior citizen Billy Crystal as a pair of funny guys, the former a struggling comedian, and the latter a dermatologist simply trying to mask the loneliness of life.

His name is Marty, which somehow fits the Crystal-perfect persona like a glove. So does the way Schwartz, whose own good-guy Scott, plays rather smoothly off his new wisdom-wielding friend almost immediately upon their funny initial meeting in a beer-joint bathroom.

The supporting cast in director Matt Ratner's appealing first-time effort fits the bill, too, especially members of Scott's quietly charismatic family: supportive Mom (Debra Monk), less understanding Dad (Kevin Dunn), lovingly smart-ass sister (Grace Gummer), and her "awesome" security cop boyfriend (David Casraneda). Hey, "Standing Up" is nothing particularly profound, just a nice little keeper. Go out to find it and enjoy.

Not rated (with a little pot use and a bit more profanity); 1:31; $ $ $ $ out of $5

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Emancipation ($ $ and 1/2)
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Devotion ($ $ $ and 1/2)
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