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Review #417 of 365
Movie Review of Fired! (2007) [NR] 71 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 6 March 2007
Time: 8:10 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Chris Bradley (Pittsburgh) and Kyle LaBrache (Pittsburgh)
Written by: Annabelle Gurwitch (TV-Dad)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Sarah Silverman (School for Scoundrels) • Tim Allen (Wild Hogs) • David Cross (School for Scoundrels) • Harry Shearer (For Your Consideration) • Andy Dick (Happily N'Ever After) • Fred Willard (Epic Movie) • Tate Donovan (Good Night, and Good Luck) • Richard Kind (For Your Consideration) • Illeana Douglas (Factory Girl) • Anne Meara (Night at the Museum) • Ben Stein (Son of the Mask) • Fisher Stevens (Factotum) • Paul F. Tompkins (Tenacious D in 'The Pick of Destiny) • Bob Odenkirk (Let's Go to Prison) • Jeff Garlin ("Arrested Development") • Annabelle Gurwitch (The Shaggy Dog)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Fired from a Woody Allen play by Woody Allen, comic actress Annabelle Gurwitch was, as anyone would be, devastated. Rather than wallow in her grief for too long, however, she began talking about her firing and got a lot of other people talking too…on stage in her new off-Broadway production. She soon found that she actually enjoyed working on her own show and helping people use humor to cope with their grief a far more fulfilling endeavor than starring in a Woody Allen play. This short documentary-style film of her travels and meetings with people who've been fired or down-sized or been victims of their own greatness and companies looking for someone less well-qualified is one of the most entertaining and humorous little films to come along in ages. No, it's not that people getting fired is funny. In fact, it can be one of the most traumatizing experiences in a person's life. Rather, Ms Gurwitch has truly found a way to walk people through the process using hilarious stories of famous actors and actresses who've been fired and people outside the industry with their own amusing stories to tell proving, yet again, that laughter is the best medicine. Directors Chris Bradley and Kyle LaBrache waste no time zeroing in on the most delightful and funny glimpses into what has nearly become a national pastime-getting fired and getting a new job. Interviews with economist turned star game show host Ben Stein and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich along with grief counselors, her Rabbi, and professional job finders, give the film some self-help overtones that, honestly, most people just fired can really use.
"Fresh, funny, innovative, and clever, the little gem of a film takes an upbeat approach…to a downbeat subject."
Smartly, the film avoids any references to the misused term and the USA's most notorious 'firer' Donald Trump. "How can one be fired if one has never been hired?" The script also works in some great success stories, particularly of a women in Michigan who took on her boss after he decided to fire everyone in the company who was still smoking by the January following his announcement. The case raised awareness in Michigan as well as in other states where workers are unprotected from loss of employment at the hands of employers who've decided to extend their concern beyond the work day in deciding the scope of benefits. In other words, some employers are using a person's private off-duty time against them, if they feel that such activities performed off-duty create greater health risks and could subject them to higher insurance claims. In most states, getting such protection is an uphill battle for workers especially in states with an 'at will' approach to firing. Fresh, funny, innovative, and clever, the little gem of a film takes an upbeat approach and delivers some funny extras as in putting Andy Dick back in a roving lunch truck similar to one from which he was fired years ago to see if he had or hadn't the makings for success in the profession—turns out, the boss who fired him probably did him a huge favor. Likewise, entertaining, are the many other celebrity interviews among some top and not quite as recognizable film and television stars as they come clean on parts they lost, casting changes made after they were already cast, and cases of mixed identity where they were cast by people who actually thought they were somebody else at the time. So, for those who've been a victim of a company wanting to go a different direction with a position or what ever other euphemism the Human Resources people want to use when delivering this major blow to the ego, forget about the pocketbook, see this film, share a few laughs, and always remember that sometimes you have to be fired from a job to give yourself the freedom to find your true passion in life.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring Fired! (2007)
Cast Members
Sarah Silverman
• Tim Allen • David CrossHarry Shearer
• Andy Dick • Fred WillardTate Donovan
• Richard Kind • Illeana DouglasAnne Meara
• Ben Stein • Fisher StevensPaul F. Tompkins
• Bob Odenkirk • Jeff GarlinAnnabelle Gurwitch
Co-Directors
Chris Bradley
• Kyle LaBracheWriter
Annabelle Gurwitch
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Fired! (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Fired from a Woody Allen play by Woody Allen, comic actress Annabelle Gurwitch grieved just long enough to realize that hers and the firing stories of others, might make a funny off-Broadway production. She soon found that she enjoyed working on her own show and helping people use humor to cope with their grief a far more fulfilling endeavor than starring in a Woody Allen play. This short documentary-style film of her travels and meetings with people who've been fired or down-sized or been victims of their own greatness and companies looking for someone less well-qualified is one of the most entertaining and humorous little films to come along in ages. So, for everyone who's ever been fired, see this film, share a few laughs, and remember that sometimes you have to be fired from a job to give yourself the freedom to find your true passion in life.
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