Movie: Tristram Shandy, A Cock & Bull Story (2005)

There are any number of way I could praise this singular movie, based on Laurence Sterne’s supposedly unfilmmable novel. I could point out how it’s one of the most faithful of adaptations, hewing to the spirit if not the letter of Sterne’s rollicking book. Which would strictly be a guess on my part, as I haven’t read Sterne’s rollicking book.

I could observe that the film is a cunning exploration of how a story well-told, or in this case barely told at all, can illuminate life even while failing to capture it in all its complexity. But that sounds pretentious, and may not even make sense. Unless you’ve seen the movie, in which case it might.

I could acknowledge the movie’s uncanny ability to portray the sense of community on a film set, the way the behind-the-scenes action comes to reflect what’s unfolding before the cameras. Only I haven’t spent that much time on film sets. Based on my limited experience, I can say that SHANDY nails two things perfectly: the director always looks like he’s just been beaten with a hammer, and the writer’s sole concern is what he’s going to eat.

So I’ll simply say that TRISTRAM SHANDY is funny. Hilarious, even. Steve Coogan is a bloody genius who knows no fear. As is Rob Brydon, who has the nerve to do his flawless impersonation of Coogan to Coogan’s face.

At one point, Coogan, playing himself as well as the title character and the title character’s father (you can see why I didn’t bother to explain the plot) tries to impress a production assistant by boasting about the offers he’s receiving to do movies in America. This prompts Brydon to launch into his equally impressive Al Pacino imitation. It turns into a profane verbal jazz riff, one that ends with Brydon (as Al) saying, “Fuck you, asshole. I’m taking you down.”

That single, generic line, effortlessly tossed off, made me realize how the rest of the world views American actors – and American movies. It also made me laugh out loud.