The Jimmy Show (2002)

Truly Dreadful Film

Highly Overrated But Still Good

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is absolutely one of the most dreadful movies I have ever watched in my life. I can't believe I wasted my time on this. All I can do is laugh at Snodra's review. This is not a well made movie at all.If the creators of the film weren't so concerned with making you feel uneasy, they would have noticed all the dumb little mistakes they made when making this movie. I spent more time laughing at the poor continuity, holes in the story, and the absolutely idiotic main character...miserable piece of crap he is.As an example of the holes in the story, Jimmy said that his daughter was born on the exact same day they got married. However, later on in the movie, their anniversary and his daughter's birthday were on completely different days. How could anyone who spent time trying to make a good movie miss something like this? Seriously...Not one single person who read this script noticed this? Also, the grandmother was clearly still breathing when she was supposed to be dead. You can see her chest moving for crying out load. I laughed when they cut to the funeral after this scene.At least I manged not to kill myself before it was over.

Do you remember what Seinfeld was like when the show first began? There'd be the regular story with Jerry and Elaine and George and Kramer, and then there'd be little snippets of Jerry's stand-up comedy where the jokes would somehow related to story. If you can imagine that kind of thing, about 90 minutes long and starring a sad and pathetic loser who isn't funny at all…that's The Jimmy Show.Frank Whaley is Jimmy, a working class guy who takes care of his invalid grandmother. He's got a job at the local supermarket, a girlfriend (Carla Gugino) he just knocked up and after a series of get-rich-quick schemes, he's settled on trying to make it as a stand-up comedian. And while the story is inconsistent in most ways, the one, grinding, inescapable constant is that Jimmy is a loser. And not a funny loser or a quirky loser or a hard luck loser, just a loser. There's nothing really interesting about Jimmy and the only empathetic aspect to the character is his commitment to caring for his grandmother. The movie follows Jimmy through marriage, having a daughter, divorce, menial employment of one form or another and through it all, Jimmy is going to open mic night at comedy clubs for his 10 minutes in the spotlight.This movie is adapted for a stage play and I can only hope that there was initially some point to the story. I hope the play tried to say something about standing on the lower rungs of the Ladder of Life and never being able to take a step up, because there's nothing like that in the movie. Jimmy is a loser and, except for a moment of happiness when his daughter is born, his life sucks and just keeps on sucking. But it's not that his life is bad because he's unlucky or there's something wrong with him. It just sucks.I can only imagine the moments when Jimmy is on stage as a comedian are supposed to provide some insights into who and why he is what he is, but it doesn't do any of that. He starts out as just a desperately unfunny wannabe, but quickly morphs into this Spalding Gray-ish monologist who just talks about his life. But there's never any connection between what he's saying on stage and what's going on in his life, except it all just sucks.The movie also suffers from an inability to maintain a consistent tone. Sometimes Jimmy is a somewhat dull witted guy and then sometimes he's a bitter smartass. Sometimes Jimmy is completely passive and then sometimes he's confrontational and in control. There are moments when we're supposed to think his daughter is sort of the cornerstone to his life, yet the girl is absent from long stretches of the film.Sometimes when you watch a bad movie, you can still imagine how someone at some point thought it might be good. One of the worst movies I've ever seen was Megaforce, starring Barry Bostwick, about a high-tech military squad battling the forces of evil. I actually talked my brother into going to see that instead of, I believe, Rocky III. But even with Megaforce, I can imagine someone sitting around saying "It's got laser guns and explosions and a flying motorcycle. It'll be so cool!" I can't imagine anyone sitting around and saying "Boy, people are really going to enjoy The Jimmy Show".

I was so disappointed in this film. I am a fan of the three leads. I thought Carla Gugino carried the film. Aside from that Jimmy's relationship with Ruth was touching. The context of the film was so depressing and angry. I ask why not give some hope for Jimmy and why end it without any closure for Jimmy. I am still spiraling downward with Jimmy. Frank Whaley is so talented that I could not believe this came from him. I hope next time he writes and directs he goes in a different direction. Frank has the talent to be a leading man and we already know he is a very credible character actor. Good luck to him and he can't go wrong working with Hawke or Gugino again.

... Must admit well acted, but "dark" & depressing film portraying a wannabe stand-up "comic" .... with no clue toward humour. Viewed this film at The Stony Brook Film Festival. One of a "book-end" weekend topping off another Frank Whaley vehicle ... "The Pursuit of Happiness". Frank (and his brother Robert, as his Tops boss Mr. Slocum) & his buddy Ethan Hawke stand out in this film as hopeless "common men" ... stuck in a rut of Life's problems and of no seeing any chance of rising above it. Frank (Jimmy O'Brien) sees a calling as a stand up comic, but a mix of stage fright and overwhelming domestic problems, put him in a trance, undermining a "true" escape from his downward spiraling Life. See it for the acting (which is top notch), but as with earlier comments, if U need a feel good and less tragic movie see Frank Whaley in "The Pursuit of Happiness" .