ReelBob: ‘MICerz’ ★½

By Bob Bloom

An apocryphal show biz adage credited to various sources — and spread to the public’s awareness by Peter O’Toole in the movie “My Favorite Year” is, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”

Whatever the source — or the exact wording — of that quotation is, it applies to the movie, “MICerz,” a story of struggling would-be standup comedians trying to hone their craft and make it big.

The comedy is writer-director Omar Dzlieri’s movie is not very funny. But that is the point — these are would-be comedians at the bottom rung, trying to hone their craft at hole-in-the-wall comedy clubs where they pay for a five or so minutes on open-mic nights, get heckled by the few people in the audience and — most of the time — bomb.

The movie’s main protagonist is Arnold (Austin Torelli), a heavyset, late-20something who came to Los Angeles from Dayton, Ohio, to fulfill his dream of being a comedian.

But life is not going well for Arnold. He is self-destructive, mooches off his girlfriend and drinks too much. He also chickens out every time he signs up to go on stage. And, he really has nothing to say — which is the death knell for a would-be comic.

Further complications ensue when his girlfriend kicks him out and, penniless, he is forced to life in his van, which breaks down next to The Bomb Shelter, a small, struggling comedy club.

He convinces Dave (Joe Manente), who runs club, to let him keep his van where it died in exchange for making repairs at the club.

The movie follows Arnold and a few other wanna-be standups who, quite frankly, are not very nice people. They bond but do so through ragging on and insulting each other.

They also, though, form a loose-knit family who also care and look out for each other.

At 113 minutes, “MICerz” is too long. At times, the various characters try your patience as they can be obnoxious.

The film is profane, as the various comics use “f-bombs,” sex jokes and shouting as part of their on-the-job training.

That seems to be the point. These young performers are raw and working to discover their voices.

It’s too bad that Dzlieri’s movie fails to fulfill the potential it was afforded.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

MICerz
1½ stars out of 4
Not rated, language, sexual references