The Dick Knost Show (2015)
Bruce Sweeney (Last Wedding) directs this keenly observed and wickedly funny media satire about a self-absorbed sports-radio shock jock whose controversial social-media missive makes him the target of network scrutiny.
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In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Outside of hockey, women's bodies and himself, there isn't much room in the head of radio sports talk host Dick Knost. When upper management decides diversification is the key to future success, they pounce on an insensitive tweet sent from Knost's Twitter account, ask him to take a break and hire a replacement host whose main concern is (shudder) soccer. Things go from bad to worse when Dick, who rages against hockey players that suffer from concussions, experiences one himself. His hard driving yet sympathetic boss is adept at keeping the peace with management, yet Dick may have gone too far this time or, with his concussion, be in no position to return. It may be that I enjoy the genre more than most, yet this film, despite its low budget, is well written, witty, consistent and truly funny. The actors, who said as much after the performance, really had fun making the film and it showed in and enlivened their performances. Above all I saw, despite all his errors, a bit of myself in Dick Knost and supported him when he pleaded with people to "say what they mean." Seen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.