Introduction:
The comedy crime film ‘Stealing Jokes’ is a 2024 American film shot by director, Mike Young. The movie has a great cast of Jeff Dye, Dustin Ybarra, Haha Davis, and Michael Rapaport for the ensemble. The sitcom portrays several comedians though in dismal circumstances they fail to get paid for their performance so they have to stage a robbery to regain their self-esteem. As a comedic piece on the process of stand-up comedy, ambition, and friendship and showing how far people will go for success “Stealing Jokes” is designed to entertain the audience and tickle their funny bone while making them think about the plight of comedians and comedy.
Release Date:
Stealing Jokes is expected to hit theaters on November 1st, 2024, and can be watched through services like Netflix or Prime Video and Apple TV. Its release happens in December – during a time when people go for movies that have happy endings or don’t want to deal with heavy themes.
Crew:
| Role | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| Director | Mike Young |
| Producers | Jeremy Alter, Anthony Bommarito, Jonathan Braue, Dan Gilbert, Michael Manasseri, Eddie Rubin, Mike Young |
| Story Writer | Mike Young |
| Cinematography | Geoff George |
| Editor | Jim Chaliz |
Cast:
| Actor/Actress | Character Name |
|---|---|
| Michael Rapaport | Louie |
| Michael Manasseri | Phil |
| Caleb Silvers | Prisoner |
| Dominic Cancelliere | Martin |
| Carmen Johnson | Maddie |
| Brian Heintz | Henchman |
| Carly Wilson | Mouse |
| Ryu Go Eun | Miley |
| Ashley Marie Jones | Lisa |
| Vidushi Shrivastava | Cara |
| Joe Wakefield | Bartender |
| Deborah Chenault-Green | Lunelle |
| Antoine Jackson | Officer Bryant |
| Dave Mishevitz | Bobby |
| Jimmie Chiappelli | Inmate |
| Michael Miles | Security Officer |
| Walter Ashaad | Tray (as Ashaad Ferebee) |
| Jonathan Yates | Prisoner |
| Greg Rea | Counter customer |
| Angela LeValley | Merch Girl |
| James Pilachowski | Security guard |
| Francisco Posada | Alejandro |
| Sam Gray | Nicky Rubin |
| Mark Rademacher | Doctor |
| Valencia Britt | Phil’s Girl |
Story:
The basic plot is focused on Jake Burman, a comedian who is still dreaming about success while working on his act as a comedian in different clubs. Jake and his friends Dustin (played by Dustin Ybarra) and Haha (Haha Davis), start a terrible tour where they do a show for money owed to them https://enor.me/movies/star+dogs+2014 Star Dogs (2014).
Having hit rock bottom, the three come up with a silly idea of robbing the venue they perform at assuming that the money they will steal will balance them out and also give them material for their comedies. To achieve this it follows the two hurling through the caricatured crime syndicate of comedy only stopping to meet a succession of peculiar characters and experience unfathomable trials and new obstacles to the strength of their camaraderie.
Key Plot Points:
- The Failed Gig: The film starts with Jake and his friends dancing in a comedy club with receiving a tepid reception and no payment.
- The Robbery Plan: They start cursing before coming up with a plan to rob the club, resulting in a hilarious scene.
- Comedic Escapades: While committing their crime, interjecting themselves in the rising comedy scene, they get themselves into all sorts of silly predicaments.
- Friendship Tested: In all their endeavors, the friendship between Jake and his friends is put to the test through themes of morality undone.
- Climactic Showdown: The movie reaches a point where the results of their actions flavor a climax and everything boils down to forcing them to address their dreams as stand-up comedians.
Review:
Despite some clichés common in any heist comedy, “Stealing Jokes” has received good reviews on its humor, cast, and plot from the first reaction critics.
Positives:
- Humorous Script: The screenplay provides jokes and humorous one-liners that mainly work well for those who know about stand-up comedy.
- Strong Performances: Jeff Dye is responsible for this cast and he is charismatic; Dustin Ybarra also did well and last but not least Haha Davis managed to do very well too from the comedic side.
- Engaging Premise: The idea of comedians turning to crime gives a completely new dimension to the heist and comedy movies product category.
Negatives:
- Predictable Plot Elements: Several critics explained that some of the turning points might be cliches within the heist movies and comedies.
- Pacing Issues: Some of the critics made a point to note that specific scenes could have been very effectively shortened in order to give the movie’s rest of the sections a better pace.
- Underdeveloped Supporting Characters: The main protagonists are complicated enough, however, some secondary characters are quite stereotyped, and in-depth might have influenced the overall impression.
Technical Aspects:
Credited, “Stealing Jokes” has remarkable technical facets that enhance the storytelling process in a very massive way. The film uses modern cinematography topped up with traditional methods of comedy filmmaking.
Key Technical Features:
- Cinematography: The experiment by cinematopher Michael Fimognari who did an excellent shooting helps the viewer to better notice the range of vivid and fullheaded actors and observe clearly the emotional closeness between the characters.
- Editing: Compiled by Danielle Dorsey, the pacing of the film work is consistent though there are scenes where more scene cutting could have created a more efficient tempo.
- Sound Design: Music composed by Liam Howlett also plays during some of the quite funny scenes and the sound effects used during such scenes only enhance the overall comedic value of the film without taking the focus away from the dialogues.
Performance:
I thought the two leading actors in the movie were great. Jeff Dye is as adorable as Jake Burman and adds life to the movie as the protagonist explores desperation and unhealthy ambition. It was impressive how Dustin Ybarra took his character Dustin out and highlighted this guy’s humor while occasionally throwing in dramatic sensitivity.
Notable Performances:
- Jeff Dye as Jake Burman: David does a good job of both comedic timing and deep soul-searching as he tries to build his character.
- Dustin Ybarra as Dustin: Ybarra is funny in the film and adds a pair of characters to Jake as his best friend who also plays around with him while encouraging him.
- Haha Davis as Haha: In this movie, Davis brings down his comedy aged well, which was more appreciated by people familiar with his comedy.
- Michael Rapaport as Club Owner: Schaefer finds capacity with the character dimensions of Rapaport, who plays the conflicted club owner unable to pay thus kicking off the film’s action.
Moviepoptime Review:
I saw Stealing Jokes and that is sure as heck of a spin on the usual heist/stealing type of film. In the movie Jake, a comedian, and his friends are swindled and the only way they feel they can get back at the people who conned them is by pulling off a comedy heist at that place. Being a fan of black comedies, this idea of a group of comedians diving into a crime was exciting and had some chuckles. Jeff Dye and Dustin Ybarra were good – if there’s one thing I saw, it was that most of the cast seemed to genuinely be enjoying themselves which made the overall product feel charming.
However, not every single joke made me laugh. It let some scenes go into the ridiculous territory and, while it was funny at times, there were a couple of scenes that could’ve used the cutting room floor. I guess it does well when it is playing the comedic card, though some of the heist elements felt formulaic if you have seen them in other heist movies. So, I suppose if you enjoy a good comedy with something a little different and you don’t mind a bit of weakness, then it’s worth a try. I guess just don’t go into it expecting a big huge high-stakes heist movie!
Conclusion:
Hence, “Stealing Jokes” stands as a captivating comedy-crime film that works perfectly to festoon themes of ambition, friendship, and the subject of tenacity counterpointed against the hilarious film backdrop. Thanks to Jeff Dye and Dustin Ybarra in the lead roles, along with reasonable technical support from director Mike Young, this film will surely hit home to those people looking for a light humor-based movie to watch out for, among various entertainment facilities.
Some of the major trends specific to its story, which may indeed be detected from its early reviews, include the presence of certain obvious patterns in its plot and realistic problems that might be observed in the speed of some sequences in “Stealing Jokes” Nevertheless, this play does provide the audience with an engaging view at the nature of friendship and the struggle with the question of right and wrong in their attempts to follow dreams. For audiences, the movie is set for theaters on November 1, 2024; thereby, the viewers should not only be entertained but also engaged in discussion about the concept of integrity in difficult situations.
As that cheesy line suggests ‘Stealing Jokes’ takes a comedic and sentimental approach to presenting an average couple who seem to find humor even in the most adverse circumstances—a tell-tale sign of people willing to gamble with everything to get some precious loot.
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