2 Minutes of Fame – Brilliant Comedy on Chasing Dreams
Director: Leslie Small
Writer: Devon Shepard, Yamara Taylor (Screenplay)
Starring: Andy Allo, Keke Palmer, RonReaco Lee, Deon Cole, Madeleine Byrne, Katt Williams, Kimrie Lewis, Jay Pharoah
Plot: An up-and-coming stand-up comic moves to L.A. to pursue a film career after video clips of his act make him an online sensation.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: 2 Minutes of Fame starts as Deandre (Pharoah) a small-time stand up comedian who has been struggling to keep up with his rent with his girlfriend Sky (Palmer) and after losing his job, hoping his comedy will take him places, his latest work starts going viral, landing him a chance to enter the Laugh Out Loud Showcase in LA.
Deandre is at the crossroads of his career and his rising rivalry with superstar comedian Marques (Williams) turned failing movie star becomes the talk of the town.
Thoughts on 2 Minutes of Fame
Characters & Performances – Deandre is a YouTube comedian that doesn’t get too many views, despite his amazing talent, he works at a grocery store hoping to hold things together, his latest videos have attacked one of the most famous stand-up comedians, just as he gets his first big break in a Laugh Out Loud Showcase, where he must learn about his routine isn’t going to translate to the stage, needing to learn the respect for the people who grind everyday, while keeping his girlfriend happy back home. Jay Pharoah is brilliant at the stand-up routines, his ability to impersonate celebrities, through the film, but when it comes to the more serious scenes, things do not hit the same heights. Marques Black is the biggest stand-up in the world who has turned to movies which has seen his star power fall, becoming the target of Deandre’s rants online, he has let too many people control his decisions, forgetting how hard he worked to get here. Katt Williams brings the experienced comedian to life with ease. Eddie is the best friend and manager of Deandre, who gets him the chance, follows his career, keeps his head in the game. RonReaco Lee gets the extra life comedy moments, being the one holding everything together. Sky is the girlfriend of Deandre who has a career as a nurse, she is getting tired of him struggling to keep the money together, part nagging girlfriend, but also wanting to love him. Keke Palmer is great being one of the only people in the real world.
Story – The story here follows an up and coming comedian that is trying to break into the industry, but is only a internet level comedian, he gets his big break, which he is looking at as one last chance to make it before giving it up and taking life more seriously for his son, we follow this last shot to make it as a comedian. This is a story about chasing dreams, which gets to put a firm look at how the modern day society can become celebrities over night without putting the grind in like the people their aspire to be, this is the biggest part of the story which feels fresh. We also get to look at the difficult balance of chasing a dream or giving up, to support loved ones, which is the most important side of the story, the film balances these two sides perfectly to bring everything together well for an enjoyable story.
Themes – 2 Minutes of Fame has brilliant stand-up routines which will get laughs throughout the film, it balances the comedy and drama well showing the importance of the two needing to work together to achieve the heart and soul of the story. The LA setting shows us the difference that Deandre must make coming from small town and internet fame to one of the biggest locations for stardom.
2 Minutes of Fame is an enjoyable comedy which will get people talking about Jay Pharoah as a serious comedy presence.
