Dealin’ with Idiots

With I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With and now Dealin’ with Idiots, comedian Jeff Garlin has started an oeuvre of modest, immensely personal films inspired by his own experiences. If his 2006 feature was a pathetic version of his life—fat, single, unsuccessful and living with his mother—his follow-up is probably closer to the truth: Here he’s Max, a famous comedian and father, equal parts disgusted and fascinated by the antics of the parents of his son’s youth baseball team. In a meta move, Max decides to get to know these wackos for research for a film—this film.
What first seems like lazy storytelling—instead of coming up with an original narrative, Garlin makes a movie about making a movie—turns out to be a stroke of genius, allowing him to dip into these characters’ lives without it seeming contrived. Eager to impress Max for a starring role in his story, they invite him into their homes and places of business, granting an empathetic glimpse at what drives their ridiculous behavior. Garlin has surrounded himself with funny, funny people, and despite playing the film’s resident comedian, he wisely plays the straight man, letting his costars go on in hilarious improv.