Two Jewish cousins affectionately look back at their culture with comedy and pathos.
Jesse Eisenberg’s second directing job “A Real Pain” is a dramedy that celebrates Jewish culture, while mixing some honest humor with sincere emotions. You have Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as Jewish cousins visiting Warsaw, Poland to honor their ancestors, particularly their grandmother who lived there. And you have them handling the topics with the right material.
Within the story, you’re able to acknowledge how they handle their emotions. Another thing it achieves is how their chemistry is able to thrive on the cynicism within. The trailers also acknowledge that Culkin plays the annoying cousin, and he can be annoying here, too, but he also has his consistency and emotions that make us feel bad for him, while laughing at his honest humor. It’s quite a revelation blend for him.
The cousins are the ad banner designer David Kaplan (Eisenberg) and the stoner Benji (Culkin), and on their Poland trip they meet a variety of characters in their tour group. There’s their non-Jewish British guide James (Will Sharpe), the divorced Brooklyn mother Marcia (Jennifer Gray), the recent retired couple Diane (Lisa Sadovy) and Mark (Daniel Oreskes), and the genocide survivor Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), who converted to Judaism. So, we need characters of different backgrounds to help keep our main travelers in check. They’re not forced or labored; in fact, they have their hearts in the right places.
As the trip continues, Benji’s turmoil starts to resurface, especially during the tour, when he openly reveals he isn’t fond with how the tour guide represents their visits. Now, bare in mind, the man isn’t an anti-semite and he doesn’t condescend the Jewish culture; he just lets his tourists sit in first class on a train, and he is a good sport about how the young man handles his opinions. So, I’m glad we’re able to cut back on the arrogance and cynicism.
Maybe that part is just a hiccup compared to what Benji went through, but whatever it is, Eisenberg directs Culkin and himself quite well. And listen to the words that David expresses during a dinner scene. There’s pain within that might be hard to grasp, but you’re able to handle the scene with understanding and sympathy. Maybe both or one of them. It all depends on what the pathos is.
I saw “A Real Pain” at the Chicago International Film Festival last week, and the audience knew when to be tickled and when to take it seriously. For example, when the tour group visits one of the concentration camps, there isn’t a single laugh in the audience nor the characters disrespecting anyone. We’re all showing our respects for the unfortunate victims. Just because it’s an R-rated comedy doesn’t mean it has to be obnoxious or mean-spirited. Maybe that’s what the film was trying to inform us on as we were viewing Culkin’s character. Maybe there’s something inside we grow to sympathize with.
Maybe the screenplay should have broaden things a bit more, but Eisenberg and Culkin both deliver the humor and heart on a sentimental scale. I’m easily reminded of Fox Searchlight Pictures entries like “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Savages,” or “Sideways” (and I still call the studio Fox Searchlight Pictures whether Disney or anyone likes it or not). Because this movie is about people, their situations and turmoil, and how the comedy tries to liven things up a bit. And while we’re tickled by our funny bones, we’re showing off some compassion for these characters.
Will you be cringing, laughing, or sympathizing at Benji’s behavior on this trip? Probably all of the above. I know I did, and I had a fun time.
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