HOW TO BE A MAN

Showings

New Parkway Thu, Feb 13, 2014 9:15 PM
Roxie Theatre Sat, Feb 15, 2014 7:00 PM
Roxie Theatre Sun, Feb 16, 2014 12:16 PM
Film Info
Director:Chadd Harbold
Film Category:Comedy
Running Time:90
Country:USA
Year of Release:2013

Description

For those who like their indie comedies vulgar and politically incorrect, rejoice! When former comedian Mark McCarthy (Gavin McInnes, co-founder of Vice magazine and published author) is faced with a rare form of cancer, he hires a young, impressionable cameraman (Liam Aiken, Road to Perdition and Fay Grim) to document his crude and comical lessons on what it means to be a man for his unborn son. Official selection for Sundance’s NEXT Weekend in Los Angeles.

With How to Be a Man, director Chadd Harbold and Gavin McInnes (co-founder of Vice magazine and published author) trade in the smooth operator archetype for a genuine screw-up who wastes no time in the film’s opening scene proving that, at least anatomically, he is indeed a man. Early on, there’s an initial fear that the sole purpose of How to Be a Man is to show outrageous, unbridled masculinity. But those fears are gradually assuaged as McInnes delivers an unrelentingly comedic turn as Mark McCarthy, a comic-turned-ad-man diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Wanting to leave a set of life guidelines for his unborn son, he enlists the help of Bryan (Liam Aiken), a young film school grad, to be his personal documentarian as he imparts videotaped lessons through his final days. With anything less than 100% from McInnes, the film would come off as a half-hearted indictment of macho culture. But Mark McCarthy is the best kind of imperfect hero: a damn funny one. A workplace rant, a glimpse of his returning-to-the-comedy-club set, and an instructional monologue to Bryan about the finer points of female interaction -- all comprise a master class in comedic commitment, and entertainment”. (Steve Greene, Indiewire)
-Jeff M. Giordano