TIFF 2011: A FUNNY MAN Review

A comic genius with designs at being something more, Dirch Passer was one of the most prolific and beloved Danish performers of all time. From his rise in the late 1940s until his death in 1980 Passer was one of Denmark's leading stars of stage and screen, appearing in over ninety feature films and packing houses for his live comedy revues, many of which were staged with his close friend and professional partner Kjeld Petersen. But though a huge star in Denmark, Passer remains little known outside of Scandinavia a fact that may be remedied by Martin Pieter Zandvliet's A Funny Man.

Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Angels And Demons, The Green Butchers) delivers a sterling performance as Passer, a man wracked by nerves and self doubt despite - or perhaps because of - his massive success. Prone to disappearing before performances and to leaning on a bottle for emotional support Passer's rise was balanced by his failure to push into the sort of serious work he craved, the subtle jealousies of his partner Petersen and his utter failure to maintain any sort of meaningful relationship in his life.

Zandvliet joins Passer's story somewhere in the 1950s - with the performer in hiding mere moments before he is due to step on stage for a comedy revue - and carries it through until the end of his life, with Passer collapsing mid performance. Zandvliet shoots the film in a classic style with the remarkable Kaas matched step for step by Lars Ranthe, who delivers an eye-opening performance as Petersen. The duo show incredible timing recreating several classic - and still very funny - stage routines while Ranthe perfectly captures Petersen's tightly bottled anger and jealousy at being surpassed by a man he considered himself superior too - an assessment shared by Passer.

Despite strengths behind the camera and remarkable performances from its two leads, A Funny Man still has some significant shortcomings as a bio-pic, however. Clearly made for a local audience with an existing knowledge of Passer's life the film is prone to jump through major events with a sort of shorthand - here's this over here, and this over here - without really pausing to let anything sink in. The women of Passer's life - including his daughter - are little more than afterthoughts within the film, which seems a major oversight as does the complete and total absence of any content relating to his extensive film career. Given that Passer's career spanned such a long period the need to focus down is obvious but it seems on the surface as though key aspects of who and what he was have simply been omitted.

Handsomely made and beautifully performed A Funny Man certainly has significant strengths and will provide a solid bit of entertainment for those who seek it out. But by sticking generally to the surface of things - it really goes no deeper than saying Passer had a bit of stage-fright and never got the chance to prove himself as a serious actor - it misses the chance to become something more significant and lasting.