I wanted to leave a one liner about The Passenger reheating Middle Man's nachos but this was seriously too good for that. This movie is about the journey of a shitty but genuine aspiring comedian and his fatal mistake of dealing with the devil at a crossroads (or letting him hitch a ride) granting him a newfound sick sense of humor. In the barren town home to the Yuck Stop only the twisted jokes land and Lenny is torn between being himself and getting a laugh. While active bystander to Hitch's brutal methods he continues to choose the laugh, until he witnesses t-bird killed by a past victim. The violence of his death becoming a living breathing organism independent of its creator. He finally breaks and a revelation is given to him by a ventriloquist puppet Jesus: "if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." Lenny finally condemns his wish to be famous and leaves his personal demon for dead in the sun. He returns as himself again to his old schtick but flubs in the face of a disapproving crowd, ultimately crawling back to Hitch to find the consequence of breaking his contract. Disfigured and scorched, Hitch pushes Lenny to commit his own crime, sealing his fate and his mark on history with a final laugh. Comedy is currency, Vegas is Heaven, and fame is Hell.
I wanted to leave a one liner about The Passenger reheating Middle Man's nachos but this was seriously too good for that. This movie is about the journey of a shitty but genuine aspiring comedian and his fatal mistake of dealing with the devil at a crossroads (or letting him hitch a ride) granting him a newfound sick sense of humor. In the barren town home to the Yuck Stop only the twisted jokes land and Lenny is torn between being himself and getting a laugh. While active bystander to Hitch's brutal methods he continues to choose the laugh, until he witnesses t-bird killed by a past victim. The violence of his death becoming a living breathing organism independent of its creator. He finally breaks and a revelation is given to him by a ventriloquist puppet Jesus: "if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out." Lenny finally condemns his wish to be famous and leaves his personal demon for dead in the sun. He returns as himself again to his old schtick but flubs in the face of a disapproving crowd, ultimately crawling back to Hitch to find the consequence of breaking his contract. Disfigured and scorched, Hitch pushes Lenny to commit his own crime, sealing his fate and his mark on history with a final laugh. Comedy is currency, Vegas is Heaven, and fame is Hell.
