Aaron's Thoughts
Dark dramedies are hard to pull off. In fact, they are probably up there with satire as one of the most difficult genres to land the plane. Layer on that the “dark” in this case are topics as heavy as depression, sexual assault, and PTSD, and you quickly realize that the film even being watchable is an act of brilliant filmmaking in its own right.
Given how much there is to tonally balance, “I Used To Be Funny” does surprisingly well at remaining genuine while still striking a balance between its heavy subject matter and witty humor. That is large part due to another knockout performance from rising star, Rachel Sennott. The film doesn’t work without her ability to blur the lines between the two. Sennott gets the unique opportunity to blend her humor from “Bottoms” and “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” with the dramatic chops that she showed in “Shiva Baby”. To put it simply, she knocks it out of the park.
While first time director Ally Pankiw succeeds in authentically portraying emotions and the human condition, the narrative structure of the film causes it to fall flat at times. Specifically the first act relies heavily on flashbacks that feel out of place and a bit on the nose. The movie seesaws back and forth between the present day and the past, but by the time you fully realize where Sam’s trauma stems from, over 35 minutes of the film is already behind. These were crucial moments to continue building out the character and our understanding of her that felt squandered. Even once we do learn what has happened to Sam the flashback nature of the film causes you to just brace for seeing how it plays out, not focus on the actual character.
Despite the flaws, it is very much worth seeing for the ambition of the script, what Pankiw pulls off tonally, and the performance by Sennott. While I wouldn’t categorize “I Used To Be Funny” as an instant indie classic, I would say that thirty years from now (when Sennott has had an illustrious career in Hollywood) many will stumble upon this film and wonder how they missed it in 2024.
I am glad that I won’t be one of them.
