Martin And Orloff

Reviewed By Rich Drees

     Martin Flam (Ian Roberts) was once at the top of his field, designing giant promotional costumes, when he suddenly attempted to kill himself. Following his release from the hospital, Martin tries to reintegrate himself back into his old life with the help of his psychiatrist Dr. Orloff (Matt Walsh). Dr. Orloff, however, has a slightly different approach to therapy and Martin finds himself being dragged along to softball games, strip bars and bad dinner theatre, wondering why he seems to be the sane person in the this doctor/patient dynamic. Orloff is able to uncover the real reason that Martin tried to commit suicide and must help him from being pressured into a similar situation again.

     While, the basic premise may sound like standard Hollywood buddy comedy formula a la The In Laws, Martin and Orloff is anything but standard. From its opening scene of Martin scrubbing the dried blood from his suicide attempt while the soundtrack pumps out “Put On A Happy Face,” this movie is a dark comic gem. Wickedly twisted moment follows wicked twisted moment, with barely any let up. One hysterical sequence set at an appallingly bad dinner theatre show is chock full of cameos. Andy Richter appears as the snooty dinner theatre matre ‘d. David Cross is memorable as the director of the horrendous Steele Magnolias-esque dinner theatre show, while Janeane Garofalo, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch appear as the play’s cast. Roberts and Walsh’s Upright Citizens Brigade cast mates Matt Besser and Amy Poehler also appear in the film as Martin’s overbearing boss and a codependent hooker who is a potential love interest for Martin.

     Roberts and Walsh first met at Chicago’s famed Second City theatre, where they studied improvisation under the late Del Close, the man who trained everyone from Alan Arkin to a majority of Saturday Night Live’s original “Not Ready For Prime Time Players”. Close believed that improvisation could be more than just “games” a la televisions Whose Line Is It Anyway? but could be a means to explore character and a scene’s possible comedic potential. Walsh and Roberts have studied well, as the film’s best comic moments derive from the finely created characters themselves and any bizarre situation they find themselves in us of their own devising and not from some contrived plot device.

     There are moments in Martin and Orloff that poke fun at other film stylists from western director John Ford to Hong Kong action helmer John Woo. These are subtle winks, a second layer to an already funny moment. The director doesn’t bash you over the head with the parody as in the recent Scary Movie 3. Some jokes are over the top and some may skate right past the viewer only to be gotten later. The reason for Martin’s suicide attempt is so deliciously and wickedly funny that I don’t want to give it away. In fact, there are so many good moments in the film that I don’t want to spoil anything. Just trust me when I say that Martin and Orloff is as gleefully dark and funny a film that has been seen in a long time.