I SMILE BACK (2015)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2016 David N. Butterworth

**1/2 (out of ****)

When she's not popping pills, downing booze, or snorting coke, Elaine
"Laney" Brooks is a pretty good mom to her two young children, Eli and
Janey. She packs them lunch and she drives them to school and she hugs
them and kisses them and tells them how much she loves them. She's also a pretty good wife to her husband Bruce... when she's not cheating on him with her best friend's spouse or with sleazy strangers in seedy bars. But
that's the drugs and the alcohol and the cocaine talking. Laney's condition--depression--isn't one of her own making. It all started when
her father walked out on her when she was a kid.
"My Dad left when I was nine. That's the whole story. He kissed me goodnight, and that's the last time I saw him."
So yeah, she has daddy issues. She's also not taking her lithium--not that there's a whole lot of room for it in her system.
In "I Smile Back," Sarah Silverman strips herself bare. It's a brave
and believable performance, a better part than the film's overall sum. For
as good as Silverman is in the film, which is based on the book by Amy Koppelman, Adam Salky's domestic drama never moves much beyond the conceit
of the sarcastic Jewish-American stand-up struggling with mental illness
and addiction.
The comedian-turned-dramatic actor is not a new phenomenon, of
course. Not by a long shot. In fact, it's almost a rite of passage for
any funnyman--or woman--seeking industry "credibility" (even though most, ironically, would tell you that comedy is harder). Robin Williams, Jim
Carrey, Steve Carell, Bill Murray, Adam Sandler--they've all switched allegiances at one time or another. Fewer female comedians overall mean
fewer crossover hits, but Whoopi Goldberg, Mo'Nique, Kristen Wiig, and Tina
Fey have all attempted more serious roles on camera, and (mostly)
impressed. Even Emma Thompson, whom we think of more as a Merchant-Ivory staple, started out in television sketch comedy.
But Silverman deserves a better script. Josh Charles (TV's "The Good Wife") is on hand as her sympathetic, frustrated husband, and Skylar
Gaertner and Shayne Coleman are solid as the kids.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterworthdavidn@gmail.com

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