In the last few years, actor Tiffany Haddish has been in more movies than any other actor except maybe Liam Neeson. A detailed documentary should be made about Haddish’s life – because her path to show business fame required her to live for years in her car – a Geo Metro. A Geo Metro is a very small and dangerous car that for anyone who has driven one knows that this is barely even a car. Haddish shares this hard-life-road distinction with producer-actor-writer Tyler Perry, who also lived in a Geo Metro for several years. It is impossible not to be impressed with any human being, wanting something so badly that they are able to risk their lives to attain. How many of us would be strong enough or even crazy enough to live in a small car for years – all for the dream of fame and fortune in show business? How many other Tiffany Haddishes are out there right now, living in their car, hoping that their day in the sun might one day arrive but never will. The road to success in show business in almost all cases involves so much hardship that for most of us, it is not worth the risk. How many of us would have the staying power over years that both Tiffany Haddish and Tyler Perry had, knowing that at their lowest points, there is never any guarantee of any success? There is not a more challenging field to aspire to than one in show business. Even after you get your big break and hit it big, there is no guarantee of another great opportunity. The late actress Erin Moran of "Happy Days" is just one example of great success followed by nothing but failure.
The other thought I had while watching the new movie “Here Today” is how long did Billy Crystal and Alan Zweibel work on the script for Here Today, with re-writes, meetings, emails, more re-writes and then the waiting for the film to be released. All for an end end result of very low ratings of 48% and bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes? Once again, the cruel critics are very wrong because Here Today is not a bad movie – it is a good movie about friendship and the onset of dementia. The reviews of this film have reminded me once again, how difficult the path to success in the art of screenwriting and movie-making can be – even for two writers with a known track record of writing and directing.
Here Today is another movie told well using flashbacks about the life of the main character, Charlie Berns, played by Billy Crystal – who is a head writer on a “Saturday Night Live” type show, slowly showing signs of mental deterioration caused by the onset of one of the many forms of dementia. Due to a Cameo-like raffle Charlie has lunch with Emma Payge, played by Tiffany Haddish and over time they develop a strong bond and friendship that I thought was very well developed. Over the course of this movie, the life of Charlie Berns slowly unfolds that ithat involves both happy times and tragedy with his two children and his wife. As far as the comedy, some of the jokes and situations work, and some do not, but overall I thought this was a very well thought-out, well written and acted family-entertainment movie.
I do not agree with the very low 48% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes as this is more of a solid 75% – with a good story and solid message. I do recommend Here Today.
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