.gif)
Real Life (film)
Encyclopedia
Real Life is an American
comedy film
released in 1979
. The first feature directed by Albert Brooks
, who also co-authored the screenplay, it is a spoof
of the 1973 reality television
program An American Family
and portrays a documentary filmmaker named Albert Brooks who attempts to live with and film a dysfunctional family
for one full year.
Charles Grodin
co-stars as the family's patriarch who consents to permit cameras in his Arizona home. Real-life producer Jennings Lang
also has an acting role in Real Life.
The concept is for the Yeagers and their two children to go about their business at their Phoenix
home, work and school as if nothing is different from a typical day, ignoring the fact that men wearing cameras that look like Star Wars helmets are recording every move they make and every word they say.
Brooks promises to be as unobtrusive as possible, taking up a separate residence in the neighborhood and promising not to interfere. Little by little, though, the stress of everyday life is complicated by the presence of the film crew. Brooks also becomes the unwitting object of Mrs. Yeager's attentions.
Yeager, a veterinarian, becomes grief-stricken when he is filmed accidentally causing a horse's death. A grandparent's death similarly upsets Jeannette. Soon the couple stops talking, becoming, as Brooks puts it, "lifeless" in their every day life. The unscrupulous man from Hollywood is likely to go to any lengths to make his film more interesting, even if it means dressing up as a clown to cheer them up or letting the Yeager house catch fire.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
released in 1979
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
. The first feature directed by Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
, who also co-authored the screenplay, it is a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the 1973 reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
program An American Family
An American Family
An American Family is an American television documentary filmed from May 30 through December 31, 1971 and first aired in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service in early 1973. After being edited down from about 300 hours of raw footage, the series ran 12 episodes and one season...
and portrays a documentary filmmaker named Albert Brooks who attempts to live with and film a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
for one full year.
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin is an American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968...
co-stars as the family's patriarch who consents to permit cameras in his Arizona home. Real-life producer Jennings Lang
Jennings Lang
Jennings Lang was an American film producer, as well as a screenwriter and actor.- Biography :...
also has an acting role in Real Life.
Plot
Ordinary family man Warren Yeager and his wife Jeannette are delighted to have a documentary filmmaker, Albert Brooks, choose them for a new cinematic and "scientific" experiment -- he intends to capture every waking moment of their daily life on film. It is a project Brooks confidently announces to a large gathering, even greeting them with a song.The concept is for the Yeagers and their two children to go about their business at their Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
home, work and school as if nothing is different from a typical day, ignoring the fact that men wearing cameras that look like Star Wars helmets are recording every move they make and every word they say.
Brooks promises to be as unobtrusive as possible, taking up a separate residence in the neighborhood and promising not to interfere. Little by little, though, the stress of everyday life is complicated by the presence of the film crew. Brooks also becomes the unwitting object of Mrs. Yeager's attentions.
Yeager, a veterinarian, becomes grief-stricken when he is filmed accidentally causing a horse's death. A grandparent's death similarly upsets Jeannette. Soon the couple stops talking, becoming, as Brooks puts it, "lifeless" in their every day life. The unscrupulous man from Hollywood is likely to go to any lengths to make his film more interesting, even if it means dressing up as a clown to cheer them up or letting the Yeager house catch fire.
Cast
- Albert BrooksAlbert BrooksAlbert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
.... Albert Brooks - Charles GrodinCharles GrodinCharles Grodin is an American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968...
.... Warren Yeager - Frances Lee McCainFrances Lee McCainFrances Lee McCain , also known as Lee McCain, is an American actress.-Early life and education:McCain was born in York, Pennsylvania and grew up in New York, Illinois, Colorado and California. She graduated from Ripon College with a BA in Philosophy and then studied acting for 3 years at the...
.... Jeannette Yeager - J.A. PrestonJ.A. PrestonJ. A. Preston is an African American actor of both film and television. He was most active from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.-Filmography:* Body Heat* Real Life* Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins...
.... Dr. Ted Cleary - Matthew Tobin .... Dr. Howard Hill
- Jennings LangJennings LangJennings Lang was an American film producer, as well as a screenwriter and actor.- Biography :...
.... Martin Brand - David Spielberg .... Dr. Jeremy Nolan
- Norman Bartold .... Dr. Isaac Steven Hayward
- Julie Payne .... Dr. Anne Kramer
- Johnny HaymerJohnny HaymerJohnny Haymer was an American actor who played Staff Sergeant Zelmo Zale, a recurring character in the television series M*A*S*H. Another high-profile role was that of the painfully unfunny stand-up comedian in the Woody Allen film Annie Hall...
.... Dr. Maxwell Rennert - Leo McElroy .... Jim Sanders
- Lisa Urette .... Lisa Yeager
- Robert Stirrat .... Eric Yeager