Review: The Stand In

‘Hit me where it hurts!!!’  True in ‘The Stand In’ and true in life!

Like so many great catchphrases, it’s easy to to remember and true on so many levels.  Fame and celebrity can be ‘in your face’ for the famous and anonymous, alike.  The spotlight can shine bright and bring money, access, and adoration; or it can bring pressure, isolation, and scrutiny.

I can’t think of a better real life example of BOTH extremes than Drew Barrymore.  And in this film Drew brings both sides to life!

The Plot – Drew as Candy

The Stand In stars Drew Barrymore in a dual role.  Candy Black has been one of the biggest Comedy stars on the planet for 20 years.  Her physical style of comedy and wide acting range have made her wealthy, successful, and famous the world over.  Paula, on the other hand, has NONE of these things.  As Candy’s stand in, Paula literally stands there.  Her profession is to literally take up space until the important person is needed.  She is not wealthy, she is not famous, she is not respected.  In fact, Paula’s so overlooked, she’s barely tolerated by the other industry professionals there to do a job.

Candy Black enters the film near the end of her reign.  The quintessential alcoholic/drug-addicted actress who treats everyone around them like feces.  She has no respect for herself, so why would she respect anyone around her?  Candy is high as a kite; she’s constantly running late, if bothering to show up at all; and can barely perform her job that made her famous in the first place.

Paula awkwardly stands in while people wait for Candy.  Where is Candy?  Why isn’t she here?  People look past Paula, and walk around her like a piece of furniture.  Is Candy here, yet?  Can someone check?  Paula has dreams and aspirations of her own, but…  WHERE is Candy?

When Candy finally shows up to shoot her scene, the epic meltdown of meltdowns truly starts!  Tom Cruise’s meltdown on the Mission Impossible set last month don’t have feces on this!

After a stunt gone awry, Candy’s foul mouth and her mental, emotional, and even physical abuse of those around her grind everything around her to a halt.  Grips and extras flee the verbal assault, and a crew member even records the whole meltdown on his phone.  

5 YEARS LATER, Candy is a recluse hiding in her suburban mansion in the dead of Winter.  Avoiding the public, the media, the government, even her own assoicates and agent; Candy is a personal, professional, and legal mess.  She deals with extensive legal problems, and soon must enter drug and alcohol rehab.

Paula’s struggles are even worse.  She’s now homeless; sleeping in her truck, and cleaning up human feces for a living.  Both women are near the end of their ropes and their only hopes are to help each other.  Paula agrees to go to Rehab for Candy, and Candy agrees to hire Paula back as her stand in, after Paula completes rehab for Candy.

As Paula adjusts to life as ‘Candy’, Candy re-adjusts to life as Cathy Tyler, her birth name.   One steps into the lite, one seeks the shadows.  Eventually, ‘Candy Black’ the stage name, the public persona becomes a shared experience.  But, can two people share one name?

The Good – Drew Barrymore shines!

Drew Barrymore is third generation Hollywood royalty, and starred in E.T. when she was 7 years old.  She’s also starred as the wallflower in Never Been Kissed and The Wedding Singer.  No actress is a better fit for Cathy/Candy and Paula/Candy.

Drew brings two distinctly different energies to each character, using her normal, deeper Alto voice as the more authoritative Candy, and a higher pitched, almost falsetto voice as the mousy Paula.  Different hairstyles, different body language, even a subtle nose prosthetic on Paula, keep each character distinct on screen.

If you like behind-the-scenes style movies, and enjoy meta/zeitgeist exploring storylines, this film is for you!  From the movie-within-a-movie point of view, we see Candy’s hit movie titles.  “Pippi Bongstocking”, “BMX Blackout”, and “Saddle Up!” rank high on Candy’s Internet/digital footprint as well.  This movie offers up the best of Hollywood celebrating and criticizing itself, as well as actors acknowledging their own diva-like behavior, while being able to say what they REALLY think of the paparazzi.

Interestingly, even T.J. Miller, who was fired off the show Silicon Valley for substance abuse and diva behavior in real life, plays Candy’s Agent, Louis, who has to be the sobering, stable presence to Candy’s chaos.  Louis even points out that the name ‘Louis’ isn’t even real, it’s ‘Friedrich’.  Layer upon layer.  Yet, it doesn’t beat you over the head with it, or get too heavy with the commentary.

Even Holland Taylor, playing the de facto voice of the entertainment industry, and the female Director of the movie in the movie Comedy ‘Saddle Up!’; is acting in this movie Comedy directed by a female Director, Jamie Babbit.

All this, while perfectly balancing story-driven and character-driven narrative forces in a light hearted, yet meaty Comedy.

The Bad

Very little to complain about The Stand In.  While clearly having a relatively low budget, the film is shot on location in New York and other picturesque locales.  

Drew Barrymore’s higher voice for Paula does crack here and there, but the persona is constant.

The Review – The Stand In Shines Bright

The Stand In balances a light Comedy with the entertainment industry looking at itself in a funhouse mirror.  The commentary isn’t preachy, the Comedy is funny, and the story flows well.  The Stand In shows how invisible stand ins can be.  So much so, Drew Barrymore’s stand in is NOT listed in the credits at the end of the film!  Lol.

Drew Barrymore drives the film in both of her roles, and even maintains great performances between both of her characters talking to each other in multiple scenes.  Each character has its own voice, journey, and distinct feel.  If ever there was a project where Barrymore wasn’t affraid to ‘go for it’, this would be it!  As Paula even says, ‘Nobody can dive head-first into Cow (feces) like’ Drew Barrymore!

T.J. Miller does a surprisingly nuanced role as Candy’s agent, regardless of which Candy shows up.  Veteran actress Holland Taylor sublely represents Candy’s last chance at the beginning of the film, and her comeback chance at the end of the film.  Michael Zegen represents Cathy’s second chance at a normal life, while bringing depth and texture to his backstory in limited screentime.

Rated R and well worth the 101 minute runtime.  Check out The Stand In!

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