I USED TO BE FUNNY: 3 ½ STARS. “a complicated but thoughtful movie.”
LOGLINE: Told on a broken timeline, “I Used to be Funny” toggles between past and present to present a vivid portrait of Sam (Rachel Sennott), a stand-up comic struggling with PTSD. As she reckons with her old life, she must also consider joining the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenager she used to nanny.
CAST: Rachel Sennott, Sabrina Jalees, Caleb Hearon, Jason Jones, Dani Kind, Ennis Esmer, Dan Beirne, Stephen Alexander, Hoodo Hersi, Miguel Rivas. Directed by Ally Pankiw.
REVIEW: A mix of humor and heartbreak, “I Used to be Funny” is a bittersweet movie that effectively captures the inner workings of a traumatized mind. (MILD SPOILER ALERT) Because of the film’s flash- forward-and-backwards structure, it takes time for the portrait to come into focus, but director Pankiw handles the time shifts gracefully, fitting the story shards together to form a complicated but thoughtful movie that doesn’t tip its hand until the third act.
At the heart of it all is Sennott, whose honest, sensitive work depicts the numbness, hopelessness and isolation that survivors of sexual assault experience.
It’s a heavy subject, given a respectful treatment, but it’s not without its lighter moments. The relationship between Sam and Brooke bubbles with warmth and, despite the title, humor, which amplifies the disconnection Sam feels in the present-day sequences. In their totality, the flashbacks placed against the present-day scenes makes for a fulsome portrait of the harsh aftereffects of sexual assault and Sam’s healing journey.
“I Used to be Funny” is a showcase for Sennott’s dramatic side, and a stirring and authentic look at PTSD and the road to recovery.
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