Film Review – The Opening Act

“The Opening Act” comes from writer/director Steve Byrne, a longtime stand-up comedian. Ready to put his early experiences on film, Byrne concocts a small-scale ode the pains of the profession with the feature, calling in every favor possible to fill the endeavor with familiar faces from the scene. Such a lived-in quality helps “The Opening Act” greatly, with Byrne keeping to simple goals of character and mishaps, striving to give the viewer a larger understanding of what the stand-up comedy system is like for a newcomer who hasn’t found their voice yet. Stage time is plentiful in the effort, as are laughs, but the real appeal of the movie is its love for awkward situations, with Byrne creating a positive story about failure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com