Her roommates are fellow stand-up comedians and as we can see with Sam, are very, very patient and caring people. It’s obviously crucial that Sam has surrounded herself with people who are there to help, but it also can’t go unrecognized, is how important these two characters – Paige (Sabrina Jalees) and Philip (Caleb Hearon) – are to the movie. They definitely provide a sense that Sam will be okay, but they also keep the movie light and funny so it doesn’t drown in depression.
Sam has gotten herself out of bed and into the shower and then turns on the TV, only to discover that Brooke, a teenage girl she used to nanny, has gone missing. Having seen her in the recent past, Sam is forced to go to the police to tell them what she knows. We, the audience, don’t know much. We can deduce that the incident that led to her current PTSD is related to Brooke and also involved going to the police.
The movie spends approximately equal time in the present and in flashbacks introducing Brooke’s family and Sam’s job as their nanny. Most audience members will be able to deduce what we’re leading up to before we get there because there are tons of little clues dropped along the way. One of which includes the casting of comedian Jason Jones as Brooke’s father, an actor who is usually hilarious, but the is the opposite of funny here. Before he even said or a word or did a single thing wrong or untoward, he had me frozen with fear. The guy is terrifying before we even have a reason to fear him.
The movie isn’t just about Sam’s recovery, but the difficult place that good guys can be put in (Ennis Esmer as boyfriend Noah), and all of the everyday decisions that can lead to the tragedy. There were so many moments from Sam’s stand-up routines and life choices that the opposition tried to use against her. Repeat after me: it is not the victim’s fault.
Sam’s response in the immediate aftermath and the events that followed are like 1 in million, this is not how it usually goes, and yet here we are a few years later and Sam still can’t return to everyday life. She did the right thing even though it definitely doesn’t feel that way.
I Used to be Funny is a piercingly honest and funny movie and needs to be front and centre in the discussion of sexual assault and the road after. The movie has combined comedy and tragedy in a very valid and effective way.
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