The Marc Pease Experience

I love Jason Schwartzman. My love affair with him started with Rushmore and went on to encompass such films as I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, The Darjeeling Limited, and now, most notably, The Marc Pease Experience.

I also adore High Fidelity. It's always been one of my favorite films. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Todd Louiso, who played Dick, directed and co-wrote this film. And that it co-starred Ben Stiller?!?!?! I had certainly died and gone to comedy heaven. To push it over the top, musical theatre numbers abound, featuring several full production numbers from The Wiz.

The story? It starts backstage, opening night of a high school production of The Wiz. Marc Pease (Jason Schwartzman) is playing the tin man. And he's freaking out. Music teacher and director John Gribble (Ben Stiller) gives him a pep talk and pushes him onstage. Marc screams like a little girl and runs off into the night, ruining the performance.

Fast forward 8 years--we find a 24 year old Marc who now runs a limo service and is selling his condo to raise funds to record a demo with his accapella group. And the madness unfolds from here.

This movie is insanely funny. If Glee, High School Musical and Waiting for Guffman got drunk one night, had a threesome and produced a love child, it would be the Marc Pease Experience.

Stiller and Schwartzman are two of my favorite comedic actors. Louiso definately challenges them to raise the bar past the typical roles we see them play. The directing is fantastic, and both actors give multi-faceted performances. And the singing! Both of them rock out on musical theatre numbers. (Stiller's performances are more comedic, in the same vein as Will Ferrell's Robert Goulet, but you can still tell that he's got pipes).

I'm sure that my musical theatre geekdom informs my great love of this film. But I'm sure it does have a more universal appeal. Check it out.