Delivery
Directed by Mark Myers
Filmbuff 2014
I really wanted to enjoy Delivery. The premise of four friends daring each other to do five minutes of stand-up even though they are neophytes is a good idea. Writer and director Mark Myers also went to Just For Laughs in 2012 and talked to quite a few comics appearing there (Russell Peters, Godfrey, Andy Kindler, Marc Maron to name a few), and he gets some very interesting answers to the kind of questions everyone would like to ask. Unfortunately, the end product is as uneven as the four sets at the end of the movie. Delivery is worth watching but it is not a keeper
Mark Myers always wanted to be a dad and make a documentary. He learns his wife is expecting, gets financial encouragement from his brother, and decides now is the time to go for the second wish. Threee years ago he and some friends thought about doing stand-up so why not make a movie about that??
The first 37 minutes are about how the genesis of the documentary itself more than about comedy. When Myers and his friends get around to writing material you get more about talking about writing than about the actual writing.
It is a very good thing Myers lined up so many good comics who had something interesting to say for that is what keeps you watching.
Finally, one week before the day Myers and his three friends are scheduled to do amateur night at Yuk Yuk’s Toronto he gets around to focusing on the premise of his movie.
There are a couple of secondary stories here such as Myers wife being pregnant and his becoming a father while one of the friends learns his dad is dying of cancer and gets closer to him. They kind of work but if Myers wanted to make the parallel work, he did not really do it.
Other weak points include an idea stolen from Impractical Jokers and uneven sound levels during interviews.