MovieChat Forums > Albert Brooks Discussion > Ranking Brooks' Directorial Work

Ranking Brooks' Directorial Work

posted 18 years ago by freudified_n_funkified
9 replies | jump to latest

Most directors' pages have at least one thread where the fans rank their films, but I couldn't find one about Albert Brooks. I'm interested to see how people rank and rate his body of work:

My list:

1) Lost in America (a perfect 10, but I kind of thought the most daring thing it could do would be to end it like Easy Rider too. Doesn't jive with the sell out satire of the movie, as they do in fact sell out of the Easy Rider philosophy, but it still would have been a great, absurd, dark coup)
2) Modern Romance - 10 (the only comedy I'd call Kubrickian)
3) Defending Your Life - 10
4) Mother - 9
5) Real Life - 8
6) Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World - 8
7) The Muse - 7

[–] n/a

This message has been deleted by an administrator

[–] n/a

This message has been deleted by an administrator

[–] n/a

This message has been deleted by the poster

[–] tody711 18 years ago

My #1 would be Defending Your Life,,,, My fav Albert movie
#2 would be Real Life as it was 'ahead of its time and was the beginning of
reality TV"
#3 would be Mother - soooo funny - deserved an award for Debbie Reynolds
#4 would be Lost in America
#5 would be Modern Romance
#6 would be The Muse - very underrated movie...

Looking did not come to the town where I live... Waiting for DVD

[–] johnnysnatchclub7 18 years ago

I just watched Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. This is a very underrated movie. People just don't get Albert. How he's so dry and sarcastic with his jokes, that he even throws away his throwaways. I loved it. And it had that special Albert Brooks type of ending where it's subtle and whimsical and "seems tacked on" (to quote Tenney in Looking for Comedy) and practically makes the movie you just watched a shaggy dog joke. I loved it. Nobody does it better. It should not have such a low rating on IMDB. If you go to those boards, everyone is hating on it and him, and 99% of them haven't even seen the film or any of his movies for that matter.

Anyway, this is my order coming up (with five stars being the best). I'm including The Scout because Albert and Monica Johnson wrote it and it has all the feel of an AB movie. No one could watch The Scout and say, "That sure is a Michael Ritchie movie." Come on, it's got Albert Brooks written all over it.

1. Modern Romance - *****
2. Defending Your Life - *****
3. Lost in America - *****
4. Mother - ****1/2
5. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World - ****
6. The Muse - ****
7. Real Life - ****
8. The Scout - ***1/2

I can't wait for his next film or for his SNL short films to be released on DVD.

[–] layzcoolschool 18 years ago

Modern Romance- I have to give this one a seven because ive only seen it once.

Looking For Comedy In A Muslim World- 7 and a half. Very funny but just wasn't one of his best.

Lost In America- This was really good but to get higher on the Albert Brooks list you really have to be great. I think this desrves an 8.

The Muse- 8 and a half. I love any scene where Albert has to do a chore for her!

Mother- One of my all time favorite movies!!!! Debbie is amazing and to qoute Rob "Get some help buddy!!!" is one of the most often said things in my family. A Ten out of Ten!!!!

Defending Your Life- WOW! What an astonishing movie. All scenes with Rip Torn are classics! The best lines in the movie are " Come on! It's a full house, it's PACKED let's GO!', "you're curious arn't you?", and "Bite! Bite!". I wish i could give a higher score then a ten for this so i'll say a TEN+!

Albert Brooks is far and away my favorite director and writer and possibly my favorite actor too!!!

[–] danielrothschild 18 years ago

Lost in America- Brooks' smartest, funniest, firmest, film. A perfect 10.

Modern Romance- Brooks most relatable film to me personally, and also a 10.

Defending Your Life- Rip Torn's best performance and he manages to steal the movie movie from Brooks. Not as complete and structured as Modern Romance and Lost in America. Falls just short of a 10. I'll give it a 9 becuase of the soft, romantic element doesn't appeal to me. If the film remained more unconventional and left out the typical Hollywood ending, this film would be a 10.

Mother- An 8 becuase of the last 10 or 20 mintues the film becomes aburd and safe. The laughs in this film also aren't of the caliber of Brooks' earlier films.

The Muse- A 7. Funny, but whenever Andi McDowell enters a scene, she ruins it. Plus the Muse has the worst ending of any of Albert Brooks' films.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World- Funny, but feels very lazy. Easily Brooks most uninspired film and the film doesn't have any footing. Enjoyable to see, but a big dissapointment for Brooks.

Real Life- I don't really remember this film so much, just that I didn't really enjoy it. A great concept, but few jokes.

[–] b_p_mcgowan 18 years ago

Great order, Daniel! I would rank them the same way, for some of the same reasons.

I was under-impressed with Real Life. If it had been made within the last 7 years, the Real Life would have had more inspiration to pick from. The problem is that it was ahead of its time.

Looking of Comedy was a great premise, yet wasn't as biting as I had hoped.

I liked The Muse, but it was a little too pop-culture to make this a timeless comedy. Fun film, but dates itself.

Mother is a comedy that was easy to relate to. I love the "protective" layer of ice on the frozen foods.

Defending Your Life was an original premise, with great performances. One of AB's best works!

Modern Romance is a film that is a little dated, but really set the standard for AB's characters. You love him and hate him at the same time. Reminds me of Annie Hall, but more relatable.

And last, but not least...Lost in America is a pure classic! One of the best comedies of all time!