Greetings again from the darkness. Paul Lieberstein is best known and easily recognizable as Toby, Michael Scott's HR nemesis on "The Office". Mr. Lieberstein also wrote and directed many episodes of that popular TV show, and now he turns his talents to the big screen: donning all 4 hats as writer-director-producer-actor in his feature film debut as a filmmaker. It's a romantic-comedy of pain, and the featured pain comes in both varieties: physical and emotional.
Fred (Lieberstein) is a long-term paralegal at the law firm his dad co-founded. He's a frumpy every-man suffering in silence with loneliness and back pain so debilitating that his morning ritual is often performed by sliding prone on the floor through his house. A long-awaited appointment with a back specialist (played by BRIDESMAIDS director and "The Office" producer Paul Feig) is comprised of numerous smart-ass one-liners from the doctor that result in no help for the patient and the dreaded diagnosis of "the trifecta of back and neck pain".
In addition to this physical pain, Fred is miserable at work as he's forced to take direction from a cocky millennial lawyer (Clark Duke), who is the firm's new partner now that Fred's protective dad is retiring. He's also miserable in his personal life due to loneliness. While we see that all this pain is interconnected, it takes a fortuitous encounter with Regan (Rosemary DeWitt), who is in need of a divorce attorney, to start Fred on the path of discovery and recovery.
Regan refers Fred to her acupuncturist Dr. Kuhang (Raymond Ma), who is astounded at the musical tones the injected needles produce along Fred's spine. The leads to one of the film's more outlandish recurring gags in the movie - a quite unique and humorous situation involving a cello. Other supporting work is provided by screen veterans Sam Anderson, Robert Pine (Chris Pine's dad) and Brian d'Arcy James as Regan's husband. Ike Barinholtz also provides a brief comedic cameo as an orderly, and Scott Hutchison delivers a welcome musical interlude. Mr. Hutchison, founder of Frightened Rabbit, sadly passed away earlier this year.
This is a nice little low budget indie that shows how even a temporary interpersonal connection can provide a spark of hope and remind us of how important fulfillment in life can be towards our physical and emotional health. Since the film is based on Mr. Lieberstein's own back pain, he provides a special thanks to John E Sarno, MD, author of "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection". The film is wry and sad, while at the same time somewhat illuminating and hopeful. It's a pleasant debut from filmmaker Lieberstein.
Fred (Lieberstein) is a long-term paralegal at the law firm his dad co-founded. He's a frumpy every-man suffering in silence with loneliness and back pain so debilitating that his morning ritual is often performed by sliding prone on the floor through his house. A long-awaited appointment with a back specialist (played by BRIDESMAIDS director and "The Office" producer Paul Feig) is comprised of numerous smart-ass one-liners from the doctor that result in no help for the patient and the dreaded diagnosis of "the trifecta of back and neck pain".
In addition to this physical pain, Fred is miserable at work as he's forced to take direction from a cocky millennial lawyer (Clark Duke), who is the firm's new partner now that Fred's protective dad is retiring. He's also miserable in his personal life due to loneliness. While we see that all this pain is interconnected, it takes a fortuitous encounter with Regan (Rosemary DeWitt), who is in need of a divorce attorney, to start Fred on the path of discovery and recovery.
Regan refers Fred to her acupuncturist Dr. Kuhang (Raymond Ma), who is astounded at the musical tones the injected needles produce along Fred's spine. The leads to one of the film's more outlandish recurring gags in the movie - a quite unique and humorous situation involving a cello. Other supporting work is provided by screen veterans Sam Anderson, Robert Pine (Chris Pine's dad) and Brian d'Arcy James as Regan's husband. Ike Barinholtz also provides a brief comedic cameo as an orderly, and Scott Hutchison delivers a welcome musical interlude. Mr. Hutchison, founder of Frightened Rabbit, sadly passed away earlier this year.
This is a nice little low budget indie that shows how even a temporary interpersonal connection can provide a spark of hope and remind us of how important fulfillment in life can be towards our physical and emotional health. Since the film is based on Mr. Lieberstein's own back pain, he provides a special thanks to John E Sarno, MD, author of "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection". The film is wry and sad, while at the same time somewhat illuminating and hopeful. It's a pleasant debut from filmmaker Lieberstein.
