Movie #2013 "For Madmen Only" (Chicago film fest streaming)
The subtitle: The Stories of Del Close -- who was an Improv guru in the 70s at Second City so he worked with all the biggies that came through: John Candy, John Belushi, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Adam MacKay, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch --- and many others --- you see fleeting glimpses of them, occasionally one speaks, and it seems to be a mystery drama of who exactly he was. There were no real answers here --- and no real organization? except a little chronological? I know that because it ended with his dying wish: his skeleton would be left to the Goodman Theatre to be used in Hamlet soliloquies "Alas , Poor York, I knew him well" --- irony is that it couldn't be done but for years it was thought the skeleton that was purchased to be Del's skeleton was real --- then, after several years, his partner Carol confessed. But it seems everyone in the improv business had a story about Del, and they threw them all together here. I just saw it as a sad life looking for purpose but drugs got in the way. He did invent some improv rules, and for that the theatre world seems to be in his debt. The film doesn't really convince us of anything else, really. I'd give it a weak 3 out of 5 and I don't recommend it.
"FOR MADMEN ONLY" 87 minutes (too long) 2020
no plot --- which coincides with what we felt about the film.
Del's mantra: "Chaos for the sake of Chaos" and that's how he handled his life.
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