It’s hard not to watch It’s Not Just You, Murray! without keeping Scorsese’s subsequent career in mind. The film’s got some moments out of Goodfellas, but also a couple where one wonders if Francis Ford Coppola saw the short before he made the Godfather films. Not to mention Scorsese ends the film with a Fellini homage. The short, from his student days, is really like nothing else he’s done since.
What makes it so peculiar? It’s a comedy. It’s a comedy about a dim-witted guy who lucks into being a mob boss, so long as he lets his best friend (and sponsor) continue to romance his wife.
Scorsese’s got a fine editor in Eli F. Bleich, who doesn’t just keep Murray moving, he keeps it unpredictable. Some of that unpredictability has to do with just how far Scorsese’ll go for a laugh or smile.
It’s good—not great—stuff.
Recommended
CREDITS
Directed by Martin Scorsese; written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin; director of photography, Richard H. Coll; edited by Eli F. Bleich; music by Coll; production designers, Lancelot Braithwaite and Victor Magnotta.
Starring Ira Rubin (Murray), San De Fazio (Joe), Andrea Martin (Wife), Catherine Scorsese (Mother) and Robert Uricola (Singer).
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