Greetings again from the darkness. Marc Maron is the rare comedian who can make you laugh and make you think, while also making you feel beat down … and often sad for him. Maron has done stand-up comedy. He’s acted in TV series (“GLOW”) and even had his own series (2013-16). You might have seen him acting in movies (THE ORDER, 2024) or perhaps heard his voice acting (THE BAD GUYS franchise). And beyond that, he may be best known as a trailblazer in the world of podcasts – his “WTF” launched in 2009 at a time when few even knew what a podcast was.
Director Steven Feinartz has quite a track record with comedy specials (Bill Burr, Eddie Pepitone, Steve Byrne, etc.), but this documentary is something a bit different. The film kicks off in 2020 as Maron (along with everyone else) is trying to figure out the new rules that go with COVID. It’s also the year Maron’s romantic partner and soul mate, director Lynn Shelton died. Ms. Shelton directed numerous TV shows as well as some movies (SWORD OF TRUST, 2019, which also starred Maron). The camera catches Maron’s emotional response to her death and then follows as that grief sticks with him.
Much of what we see on screen is Maron using comedy and his work to process his grief. Directly to the camera he questions whether this is proper or not – is it an abuse of her memory? Maron’s podcast has featured many guests over the years, including Paul McCartney and Robin Williams … even Barack Obama showed up to tape a show in Maron’s garage studio. Not surprisingly, Lynn Shelton was a podcast guest back in 2015. But this is something different. We are watching a guy dealing with loss. It all seems real, yet how are we to know for sure. That ending certainly catches us off guard – not that we don’t wish him happiness.
It’s quite interesting to watch as Maron goes back on stage in 2021. One 2022 segment features actor/comedian Patton Oswalt recounting the loss of his wife and sharing the emotions of grief with Maron. It’s a powerful segment that ends too quickly. Fellow comedians John Mulaney, Nate Bargatze, and David Cross contribute, and Maron discloses some personal baggage: his love of cats, his use of cocaine in the 1980’s, being sober since 1999, and having ex-wives. One of my favorite parts involves his dad jokes – jokes specifically for his dad, who was in the audience for a show. Maron’s 60th birthday party wraps things up, and though we aren’t exactly sure what we’ve watched – it’s certainly more personal than most celebrities would accept.
Utopia will release the film in theaters in NY and LA on October 3rd and nationwide theatrical events on October 5th & 8th.
The theatrical releasee will coincide with the end of Maron’s enormously popular podcast WTF. 16 years in, WTF is one of the most streamed and longest running podcasts of all time.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 