University of Virginia Library

Film Reviews

'The Comic': Fall Of A Silent Star

By Steve Wells
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Remember those talented
people who made The Dick Van
Dyke Show one of the finest
weekly programs in television
history? Something happened to
them when that show went off the
air. With one or two exceptions, it
seems as if the careers of everyone
involved with it have gone downhill
since it went off the air.

The star himself has made a
handful of bad movies. Ditto Mary
Tyler Moore, only her downfall has
also included the starring role in the
famous musical disaster, "Breakfast
At Tiffany's." Rose Marie and
Morey Amsterdam have become
regular faces on daytime TV game
shows. Writers Bill Persky and Sam
Denoff have done little to make
their presence known. And finally,
Carl Reiner, perhaps the strongest
creative force behind the show, has
written an unsuccessful Broadway
play, and now, with Mr. Van Dyke,
has made the film "The Comic,"
which does little to reflect the
comic brilliance both men possess.

"The Comic" is, appropriately
enough, about the downfall of a
silent screen clown named Billy
Bright. Told in flashbacks from his
funeral, it chronicles his rise to
stardom and his reduction to a
forgotten senior citizen.

Mr. Reiner's best attempt at
humor is in having the organist at
Billy's funeral play his favorite
song, "Yes, We Have No Bananas."
Even this, however, is not as funny
as it might have been. The rest of
the comedy is witless slapstick,
none of which is the least bit
original.

As the film trudges forward,
however, Mr. Reiner becomes more
serious. We see the misery of Billy's
personal life: his adulterous
activities, his separation from his
wife and child, his eventual
unemployment. Strangely enough,
this is where the movie is most
effective.

Let's take the final scene for
example. Billy's alarm clock rings at
4:30 in the morning. The old man
goes to his television and turns on a
movie. It's a silent flick that he
made decades before, which was his
biggest triumph. He sits,
expressionless, and watches it.
Forty years ago it had people
rolling in the aisles; now not even
he is laughing. Time has spoken.

Unfortunately, Mr. Reiner's
credible slabs at drama do not mix
with his feeble attempts at humor.
Incongruity prevails. The mood of
the film is never firmly established:
it is constantly changing.

Mr. Van Dyke display a genuine
acting ability when the script is
serious, but is forced to fall back on
some of his worn-out silent screen
routines during the supposedly
comic segments. He is a much
better entertainer when someone
supplies him with a witty premise
and a few funny lines. Michele Lee
as his wife and Mickey Rooney as
his sidekick, Cockeye, both give
acceptable performances in the
film's other two prominent roles.

It is really only Mr. Reiner who
has let us down. It seems as if
nowadays his true talent can only
be seen on weekday returns of that
marvelous TV series.

(Now at Barracks Road)