Looking for Lenny is an in-depth, controversial documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression.Looking for Lenny is an in-depth, controversial documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression.Looking for Lenny is an in-depth, controversial documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression.
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Lenny Bruce
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLenny (1974) is a fictionalization of the real life person also portrayed in works such as Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998), Lenny Bruce in 'Lenny Bruce' (1967), Lenny Bruce: Without Tears (1972), that is also mentioned as an influence in documentaries like Fuck (2005), Obscene (2007) and Hungry i reunion (1981).
- ConnectionsEdited from Lenny Bruce: Without Tears (1972)
- SoundtracksBig Tom
Written by Todd Zimberg
Performed by the Island Jazz Quintet
Featured review
Uneven but Worth Watching
Looking for Lenny (2011)
*** (out of 4)
Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Roseanne, Christopher Titus, Kitty Bruce, Phyliss Diller, Elon Gold, Jonathan Winters, Hugh Hefner, Lewis Black, Jon Lovitz, Henry Rollins and Lisa Lampanelli are just a few of the famous names who show up in this documentary that takes a look at the controversial comic Lenny Bruce. For the most part this is an entertaining documentary but it is rather shocking to think how important Bruce was yet there really hasn't been too much done on him. The interviews here are all pretty good as the current group of comedians talk about what Bruce did for their profession while we also get interviews from those who knew and worked with Bruce and they're able to shine some light on his life. The documentary spends most of its time on Bruce dealing with the various controversial subjects including race and religion. We get several clips from Bruce appearing on The Steven Allen Show and there's also some audio recordings of his concerts. Also, we get to see some newspaper articles about the various times he was arrested and taken to court on obscenity charges. The documentary uses Bruce's message to speak out against political correctness and this is where the thing gets a tad bit uneven because Michael Richards and Don Imus are discussed and what their rants meant to what Bruce was fighting for. I personally would have preferred more talk about Bruce because there's really very little that we get to know about him outside of the controversy and of course his early death. Another strange thing is that the 70-minute documentary "ends" at the 55-minute mark when the credits start to roll but for some reason the movie then goes on another fifteen-minutes with more interviews. The entire time the credits are rolling at a very, very slow pace, which gets quite annoying after a while. Still, this is a fairly interesting documentary that's still worth viewing if you're a fan of Bruce or just want to hear some of his life story.
*** (out of 4)
Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Roseanne, Christopher Titus, Kitty Bruce, Phyliss Diller, Elon Gold, Jonathan Winters, Hugh Hefner, Lewis Black, Jon Lovitz, Henry Rollins and Lisa Lampanelli are just a few of the famous names who show up in this documentary that takes a look at the controversial comic Lenny Bruce. For the most part this is an entertaining documentary but it is rather shocking to think how important Bruce was yet there really hasn't been too much done on him. The interviews here are all pretty good as the current group of comedians talk about what Bruce did for their profession while we also get interviews from those who knew and worked with Bruce and they're able to shine some light on his life. The documentary spends most of its time on Bruce dealing with the various controversial subjects including race and religion. We get several clips from Bruce appearing on The Steven Allen Show and there's also some audio recordings of his concerts. Also, we get to see some newspaper articles about the various times he was arrested and taken to court on obscenity charges. The documentary uses Bruce's message to speak out against political correctness and this is where the thing gets a tad bit uneven because Michael Richards and Don Imus are discussed and what their rants meant to what Bruce was fighting for. I personally would have preferred more talk about Bruce because there's really very little that we get to know about him outside of the controversy and of course his early death. Another strange thing is that the 70-minute documentary "ends" at the 55-minute mark when the credits start to roll but for some reason the movie then goes on another fifteen-minutes with more interviews. The entire time the credits are rolling at a very, very slow pace, which gets quite annoying after a while. Still, this is a fairly interesting documentary that's still worth viewing if you're a fan of Bruce or just want to hear some of his life story.
helpful•20
- Michael_Elliott
- Aug 14, 2012
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Lenny Bruce och gränserna för komedi
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 5 minutes
- Color
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