George Carlin’s American Dream

[DanaK]

Quote

GEORGE CARLIN'S AMERICAN DREAM chronicles the life and work of legendary comedian George Carlin. Dubbed the "dean of counterculture comedians," Carlin's career spanned half a century during which he headlined 14 HBO comedy specials and appeared on "The Tonight Show" over 130 times, constantly evolving with the times and staying sharply resonant up until his death in 2008 and beyond. Carlin's ability to zoom in on societal ills has proven eerily prophetic and much of his work resonates today with alarming - and still hilarious - clarity. The documentary examines a cultural chameleon who is remembered as one of the most influential stand-up comics of all time.
 

The HBO Original two-part documentary, GEORGE CARLIN'S AMERICAN DREAM, directed by Judd Apatow (HBO's "Girls," "The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling") and Michael Bonfiglio (HBO's "May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers"), will debut on HBO on back-to-back nights. Part 1 debuts FRIDAY, MAY 20 (8:00-9:55 p.m. ET/PT) with part 2 debuting SATURDAY, MAY 21 at the same time. Both episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max beginning Friday, May 20

 

[chediavolo]

This was pretty interesting. Although I thought they went a little long on the family drama. I would’ve liked to hear more of his  standup and hear him talk about the state of the country/world. So compelling. . Wife was an alcoholic who happily made her way back to the light after almost dying,  child had to go thru all the trauma & neglect  of that & cocaine abuse by parents. Nuff said.
  It’s insane how much of his take on things is still relevant & true today. Sadly. It’s like nothing changes in this country, as they portrayed. I did not know how much darkness he had in him at the end of his life. 

[12catcrazy]

I thought that this was a very well done documentary.   It was interesting to see how his comedy morphed from the early 60s to the 70s and how he had a resurgence in the 90s.  I had been familiar with some of his comedy in the early 70s (I was a young teen who'd listen to nightime FM radio) but I had no idea that he was also on tv in the 80s.   He had a brilliant kind of warped mind that excelled at word play and also was able to cut through so much of the bullshit of life.   I was sad that both he and his wife had bad substance abuse problems (and sadder for his daughter, and trust me, I know what that was like) but on the other hand,  they also had such a love story.   It was tragic that at the point in his life when he felt that maybe he could slow down career-wise and spend more time together that she became fatally ill.    His second wife appears to have been considerably younger, but thats usually how it goes. 

Listening to so much of his later comedy I kept thinking, oh boy, if he had still been alive in the last 5 or so years, how much material could he have had, but it seems that so much of what he said 20, 30 years ago is just as true today - if anything, more so.  

[Vermicious Knid]

They did run his audio over a montage of the upheavals from the last couple of years, including the George Floyd protests and January 6, at the end to show how relevant he still is.

This was pretty well done. Even at almost 4 hours there wasn't anything you would call filler. It was startling to see him from early in his career, so clean cut with the suit and tie. I didn't even recognize him until he spoke with that very distinctive voice. Making appearances on all the goofy talk and variety shows of the day. And with Richard Pryor on that family show hosted by John Davidson, oh jeez. That was hilarious. I vaguely remember the George Carlin show being on but didn't watch it. Doesn't seem to be available on streaming. The only nitpick I have it they talked about his problems with the IRS, and that's why he had to keep going on the road. But they didn't pick back up on whether he was able to pay it all off or not.

I have to think the massive cocaine use contributed to his heart problems. And Brenda died of liver cancer, which has been linked to long tern, heavy alcohol consumption. Their daughter has also had substance abuse problems, sadly.

[MsTree]

2 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Their daughter has also had substance abuse problems, sadly.

Did she mention it in the documentary? If so, I must have missed that. 

[Domestic Assassin]

7 hours ago, MsTree said:

Did she mention it in the documentary? If so, I must have missed that. 

Not in the documentary. She talked about it in her memoir.

[Vermicious Knid]

I was curious if she had a family so I looked her up, and every article mentioned it. Might have to look up her book.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Very well done.  Much better than Apatow's bloated love letter to Garry Shandling (which I couldn't even finish).  I guess it helps when your subject is actually funny.

[Annber03]

On 5/29/2022 at 12:11 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

They did run his audio over a montage of the upheavals from the last couple of years, including the George Floyd protests and January 6, at the end to show how relevant he still is.

That was a really, REALLY powerful, haunting moment. I really liked how they put that together. 

We had this on our DVR for a while, finally got a chance to sit down and watch it. My parents introduced me to his comedy years ago, so it was fun to see some of the highlights of his more notable comedic moments, to see how his career changed and evolved over the years. It's especially fascinating to see his early suit and tie days versus his long hair counterculture era - Stephen Colbert's Beatles comparison regarding Carlin's transformation was spot on (and on that note, it was fun to hear from him and other comedians about what they admired about Carlin, and how he influenced them). And I learned a few things ,too - I had no idea he was there the night Lenny Bruce got arrested. That's wild. And very appropriate, I think :p. 

And of course, the clips themselves were a riot, too. The bit about women needing prescriptions for birth control and the Jesus statues facing the drivers on cars were particular favorites that cracked me up XD. I also liked seeing clips from some of his stand up specials I have seen - brought back some good memories of watching them with my dad and the two of us laughing together :). 

But to learn more about his family life, his personal life, that part I found especially fascinating and touching. The love he had for his wife, even amidst all their turbulent times together, the more gentle side of him that came out when he was off stage, his daughter's reflections on their relationship...it was all very moving. I'm glad that she and her dad managed to make peace with some parts of their past before he died.  It was good to learn more about him, both professionally and personally, and to see how his influence still lingers all this time later. 

On 5/26/2022 at 2:09 PM, 12catcrazy said:

Listening to so much of his later comedy I kept thinking, oh boy, if he had still been alive in the last 5 or so years, how much material could he have had, but it seems that so much of what he said 20, 30 years ago is just as true today - if anything, more so.  

They even commented on that in the documentary, the whole thing of hearing an absurd news story and wishing Carlin was here to comment on it. Indeed, I've had that thought a time or two myself in recent years. But yeah, I don't know whether to find it impressive or sad, or both, that so much of what he talked about in his routines remains relevant to this day. 

[Vermicious Knid]

Creative Arts Emmy: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

George Carlin’s American Dream • HBO/HBO Max • HBO Documentary Films presents an Apatow/Rise Films Production in association with Pulse Films (WINNER)

[DanaK]

I’ve watched Part 1 and so far, it’s very interesting. I grew up knowing about Carlin in his counterculture time in I think the 70s. I never knew before about his wife’s alcoholism and how bad it got; that was a real eye opener