The Opening Act
Ratings: 4/5
Duration: 1hr 30 mins
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Director: Steve Byrne
Writer: Steve Byrne
Producer: Peter Billingsley, Dean Buchanan, Graham Chan, Cj Colando, Jason Dallas, Sefton Fincham, Constance L. Hoy, Matthew B. Schmidt, Michael Shader, Vince Vaughn
Music: Amy Marie Beauchamp, Jose Cancela, Dave Kushner
Cinematography: Eric Alan Edwards
Editing: Sandra Granovsky
Art Direction: Michael C. Stone
Release Date: 16 October 2020
Releasing In: Theatres
Star Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, Alex Moffat, Bill Burr, Neal Brennan, Debby Ryan, Ken Jeong, Jermaine Fowler, Whitney Cummings, Tom Segura, Roy Wood Jr., Iliza Shlesinger, Valerie Azlynn, Butch Bradley, Antonio Raul Corbo, Allison Dunbar, Felipe Esparza, Ashley Fink, Pete Giovine, Bonnie Hellman, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Sally LoMonaco, Mircea Monroe, Edward Kenneth Park, Melissa Paulo, Courtney Pauroso, Russell Peters
Plot: Will's true-life passion is to become a stand-up comedian. When given the opportunity to emcee a comedy show opening for his hero Billy G., he must decide if he wants to continue the life he has set up or pursue his dream.
Review: In ‘The Opening Act’, written and directed by comedian Steve Byrne, Will Chu (Jimmy O. Yang) and his dad bond through their love of stand-up comedy. The starting point is established beautifully. The film starts with a montage of Will's childhood, showing Will and his dad at various ages sitting on the couch and laughing at comedy specials.
The film follows Will, who is stuck in a thankless job while trying to pursue his true passion in life- becoming a stand-up comic. When he gets the opportunity he's been waiting for, an emcee slot on the road opening for his hero, the realities of life on the stage come to light. Between relentless hecklers, drunken groupies and hard-to-impress DJs, things get off to a rough start. Even if he can learn from his idols and overcome the challenges, he'll have to prove he has what it takes to make his dream a reality.
The film depicts the ‘never shown before’ aspect of stand-up comedies: A lot of different factors go into making someone successful in comedy, but an aspect not often discussed is perhaps the most important: self-knowledge and self-awareness. Who are you and what is your point of view?
‘Opening Act’ takes place over a four-day period where Will faces a steep learning curve about who he is, why he wants to "do comedy," and what he needs to do to get better at it. This insight has been explored deeply; something the stand-up comedy lovers and viewers have never witnessed. It is all new. There’s not much room to not like!
In the last ten minutes of the film, we witness that Will’s character is a double orphan (his mom passed when he was a child, as we witness in the dialogue-less opening montage, and his father apparently died a few years before the present). Billy implores Will to find his pain and use it, and that makes this film wholesome!
