I Used to Be Funny – Rachel Sennott Shines In This Heavy Dramedy (Early Review)

I Used to Be Funny follows Sam Cowell (Sennott), an aspiring stand-up comedian struggling with PTSD and depression, trying to decide whether or not to join the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenager who she used to nanny. Jumping between past and present timelines, audiences see Sam as she tries to recover from her trauma and get back onstage while also learning about the events that have taken her down this path. The result is a solid dramedy dealing with some very heavy themes and features a career best lead performance from Rachel Sennott.

Sennott burst onto the scene back when Shiva Baby, which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and her star has grown considerably in the years since. She’s mostly been typecast as similar characters in different films but she’s excellent at playing them and her schtick isn’t even close to getting old. I Used to Be Funny shows a completely different side of Sennott and to be perfectly honest, it’s kind of amazing what she has accomplished. Here, she is tasked to play two completely different versions of the same character, one in flashbacks and one dealing with PTSD in the present day, two versions that are essentially polar opposites of one another.

The flashback Sam is a character more akin to what audiences have been used to seeing from Sennott, but more toned down, while these sections of the film are where she gets to pull out her comedic talents and excellent timing. It’s such a credit to Sennott that present day Sam almost feels like a different character entirely, and the subtle work she does in tackling this other side of the character is brilliant. While this isn’t the type of film that the Oscars would typically go for, there are moments in the third act where it is easy to see just how much Sennott is giving to Sam in a way that will have many wondering how long until she becomes a first time Oscar nominee.

Petsa, who plays young Brooke, is great here as a character who is almost designed to get on audiences’ nerves over the course of the film. Despite this, she highlights why Brooke was the way she was without ever crossing into fully unlikable or unbearable territory. The relationship between Sam and Brooke is unconventional to say the least, especially with what happens plot wise, but the chemistry between Sennott and Petsa sells, delivering the best scenes in the film. As mentioned, the film deals with some very heavy themes and although a lot of them have been covered before, they are still timely and Pankiw examines them in a way that is undeniably moving. At first, the film’s structure might seem a little jumbled as it abruptly jumps back and forth between two time periods without much to distinguish either period, but as it goes on, the bigger picture becomes more clear and its nonlinear format starts to make more sense.

That being said, where this falls a bit short is in its length, tone, and predictable mystery elements that are implemented into the story. Any film dealing with a missing person is destined to have some mystery to it, but that was easily the lousiest aspect of this and truly the only thing that didn’t work, even though it kind of had to be there. In what feels like a drama for the most part, there’s some needed comedy in there as well. As much as the comedy is required, it can at times feels a little out of place up against the film’s heavy subject matter. Though not an overly long film by any means, it does feel like it runs out of story near the end, leaving it a tad stretched out as it nears the end credits.

Don’t walk into I Used to Be Funny expecting a typical Rachel Sennott performance or comedy, it is something so much more. While there are certain things aspects to it that could have been explored further, this film, for the most part, is a rock solid led by a terrific lead performance from Rachel Sennott.

still courtesy of levelFilm

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/