ARE WE GOOD? (B+) - Welcome to your 60s, Marc Maron. As if the comedian/podcaster weren't grumpy enough over the years.
This documentary tracks Maron -- an admittedly B-list standup -- as he winds down his pioneering podcast "WTF" and moves on from the COVID-era death of his girlfriend, the filmmaker Lynn Shelton. That was a tough blow for him in 2020, having found a true partner after a couple of failed marriages and even more battles with drugs.
Here he is, warts and all, a kid from Albuquerque, putting his life in perspective, and as sociology, it can be fascinating at times -- though Maron's self-deprecating crankiness gets a bit old hat across 97 minutes. Maron grapples with an unhappy family history, too, particularly with a gruff, philandering father who now is dealing with dementia, assisted by a younger wife, Rosie (who decades ago was his business assistant). The film's coda places father and son in an Albuquerque diner (Maron is good about coming back to his hometown to look in on the old guy), and it's almost remarkable how unremarkable and anti-climactic the scene is. It lacks either tension or a connection -- just a middle-aged man and his elderly father existing in the same space for a while.
Director Steven Feinartz, a veteran of standup specials, and rookie writer Julie Seabaugh struggle at times to find narrative hooks or a-ha moments that will jump off the screen. Instead, it's slow and steady as she goes, and luckily Maron (depending on your tastes) is an intelligent soul-searcher whose musings connect on a basic level. They assemble some of Maron's comic pals -- including David Cross, John Mulaney, Caroline Rhea and Michaela Watkins -- who explain how far Maron has come from his wilder early years, which included partying with Sam Kinison and displayed through some old stage clips. No one, though, is ever really able to truly capture what exactly made Maron such an asshole back in the day and why they admire is journey as a man.
But Maron does exude a certain rough-hewn charm, even in this maudlin milieu. He is loving to his cats, and he seems to have great taste in music, as reflected on the soundtrack. It might help to connect if you are close to his age and are of a mind to take stock of the events that have unspooled over the decades. My older movie companion and I were heartened.
CODA: As we stood on the sidewalk outside the Guild Cinema breaking down the film, out from the theater toddled an elderly man struggling against a cane, aided by his younger partner. It was Maron's father and Rosie.
BONUS TRACKS
The soundtrack helps the film build to a crescendo and find closure. That includes "The Ticking Is the Bomb" by Dean Wareham of Luna:
The hypnotic "Manhattan" from Chan Marshall as Cat Power:
And over the closing credits, Big Thief with "Change":
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