It’s hard to make a comedy about death work, but writer-director Rob Burnett manages to pull it off with In Memoriam, his first film since 2016’s The Fundamentals of Caring.
Marc Maron stars as Langston Stanfield, a seasoned actor and a self-proclaimed a-hole, who gets obsessed with being included in the Oscars “In Memoriam” montage after finding out he has 6 to 9 months to live.
It’s great to finally see Maron in a lead film role. He perfectly balances the character’s narcissism and vulnerability. There is a Tony Soprano-Dr. Melfi dynamic between him and his charming therapist Samantha, portrayed wonderfully by Lily Gladstone.
There are appealing supporting performances from Talia Ryder as the daughter he had never met, Sharon Stone and Judy Greer as his ex-wives, and Michael McKean as his business manager.
The script takes a few predictable turns in the third act, forgoing the dark humor and opting for something more heartening instead. That said, fans of cringe comedy should find plenty of laughs here.
