User reviews

I LOVE Demetri Martin's standup. Here, he is writing and directing a film, in the comedy category, about death and grief. He's Dean, who is dealing with his dad (Kevin Kline). Robert is dealing with the loss of his wife, and has decided to sell the house. Mary Steenburgen is Carol, the realtor who will be selling the house. Which Dean isn't happy about. Martin's own artwork and humor are interspersed. There's a funny bit at the wedding where he does a clever word play bit when he gives his toast. The other best man is such an idiot, he thinks he's been insulted. Martin uses a bunch of other comedians in the film: Asif Ali, Jon Benjamin, Beck Bennett. I'm a huge demetri fan, so i liked it. The airplane scene was a little weird. It took a minute to figure out what happened. I totally get the awkwardness Dean feels with everyone. His father. His old friends. Meeting new friends. Potential employers. I loved how no approach worked with the girls... at first, the best friend's line worked, but later, he can't say anything right, and the chicks like Dean instead. It's all pretty random. Which i think is the secret to Martin's humor.

First of all, writing, directing and starring in a project is never too easy even if you're surrounded by such talented group of people. Yet, Demitri Martin handles it really good and brings a really beautiful tone to this movie. Even though, it is actually a very personal story it does not alienates you and tells it with such warm and realistic way. The one most stood out was how the illustrations summed up the some of the scenes or how used as an interlude between ones. Totally recommend this beautiful and highly relatable story!

Seen at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. Written and directed by Demitri Martin, with a nice role for Kevin Kline. A nice mixture of laugh-out-loud humor, but also a surprising melancholy pervades throughout the film. Martin's very clever drawings take a central role in the movie, too. This is a story that isn't new or groundbreaking, but Martin infuses it with his own wit and wisdom, and the results are a very enjoyable and thoughtful first feature. Highly recommended.

Don't know if this really happen to star writer and director Demetri Martin but it does feels personal and a very real processes of grieving.

What is it with Gillian Jacobs' being cast to be the girlfriend of these awkward guys? Guess that's her thing (I'm just assuming based on her role in Love on Netflix).

Not enough Kevin Kline in this movie and that's a shame. Not into romantic comedies but I would love to see one if Kevin Kline is playing a man looking for love. The both times I recall him doing it (including this one) have him doing some really good acting. Charming and expressive, It felt like he was really into the woman he was courting. Then again, I'm sure it's not hard to fall in love with Mary Steenburgen (Who was in the Last movie I saw Kline get romantic in, Last Vegas)

It reminds me of Nebraska but not as good. Just in the concept that those who can relate to the material would like it more.

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'DEAN': Three Stars (Out of Five)

An indie comedy-drama written and directed by actor Demetri Martin, who also stars in the film. Martin plays a Brooklyn cartoon artist (he also did all of the illustrations for the movie) named Dean, who recently lost his mother and broke up with his fiancé. The film costars Kevin Kline,Gillian Jacobs, Rory Scovel, Mary Steenburgen and Reid Scott. It's gotten mostly positive reviews from critics, and it won Best Narrative Feature at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, but it also underperformed at the indie Box Office. I found it to be slightly amusing, but not nearly as emotional as it seems to think it is.

Dean (Martin) is a published cartoon artist who lives in Brooklyn and recently lost his mother. He's having difficulty dealing with her passing, as is his father, Robert (Kline), who's also having trouble adjusting to living alone. Dean was engaged to be married, to Michelle (Christine Woods), but after his mom died, things didn't work out. He performs very poorly in his best friend Brett's (Scott) wedding, as a 'second best man', and then travels to Los Angeles to meet with some ad executives about using his art. He meets a woman, named Nicky (Jacobs), at a Los Angeles party there, and starts to fall for her. The whole time he still tries to cope with his mother's passing, deal with his recent breakup, and try to convince his dad not to sell their family home.

The movie has all of the ingredients of a well made (and emotional) comedy drama, but it feels like it's just going through all of the motions of one (to me). I think I'm a pretty big sucker for emotional dramas, but this one didn't really make me feel that much. It's slightly funny, and it's filled with sad characters, but it doesn't feel like a complete movie to me. I think Martin probably has some decent talent, as an actor and filmmaker, but he kind of misses the mark here (in my opinion).

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I had the privilege of meeting Demetri Martin for the first time in this movie. Written, acted, directed and visuals. Which perhaps gives me a perspective not tainted by expectations or comparisons. I found the slow burn dry humour wonderfully fresh and exceptionally entertaining. The movie is well balanced and never goes down a rabbit hole of grief, awkwardness, friendship or life. Like a mini-golf game, the ball circles these holes masterfully and skillfully. This is a family movie without the grit in the eye and smut that clutters our screens so frequently. The soundtrack was spot-on and my 18-year-old daughter connected to the movie through this angle. In all, a good movie with a good simple story masterfully crafted. I will follow Demetri with keen interest from now on. He stirred my Woody Allen genes, which says a lot about the level his talent is benchmarked at. By me, that is. A pleasant saturday evening movie with a nice glass of Pinot.

Dimitri Martin writes, directs, and stars here as Dean, who is an illustrator and writer trying to cope with the recent loss of his mother. He's also struggling in his relationship with his father Robert (Kevin Kline), who is also finding his own ways of grieving his loss.

With work on his next book blocked by his sadness, Dean decides to travel from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to meet with a dot.com ad agency who have expressed interest in his drawings. While there, Dean will hook up with some old friends like Eric (Rory Scovel) and Becca (Briga Heelan), as well as meeting a new woman Nicky (Gillian Jacobs).I thought the scenes with his friends and Nicky worked well and were often heartfelt and humorous. However, other parts of this movie seemed awkward and flat, so a mixed bag overall.

All in all, I thought this rather quirky and oddball dramedy, employing lots of deadpan humor, was only partially successful.

This is a waste of time. No nice way to put it. It's a challenge to watch this for longer than the first 10 minutes!

This is an excellent movie. If you want to watch the same thing over and over again, then don't bother with Dean. You might want to watch a few episodes of Demetri Martin's Show, Important Things. This movie is an excellent complement to his extremely intelligent and offbeat sense of humor.

The entire cast is strong, but Demetri Gillian Jacobs are especially charming. Their silly love story is satisfying without being a cliche.

More, please!

On the up-side, this flick was presented in an interesting way that came across as original and real-the story, the cast, the acting, the filming, all of these were stand-up and captured one's interest.

On the down-side, the soundtrack was a torturous let-down; it was such a distraction and so painful that I found myself skipping thru the scenes where the music was featured, not even caring if I missed any important dialogue that might be there and bringing an otherwise solid 8-star rating down to 6.

Standout of the film is the artwork done by Martin...sort of the Far Side revisited, clever and wordless. The film is close to wordless as well, relying on one of the most intrusive and off-putting film scores I've ever experienced. (I watched on Netflix, put on closed caption, and muted out the songs generally after just a few bars). The film is thoughtful in presenting a portrait of grief, but at 90 minutes, it feels about 30 minutes too long. The film's ending didn't convince me of the character's develpment. Fine performance by Kevin Kline is worth noting.

Enjoyed the doodles, The music was just awful and took away from the scenes.

Just finished watching "Dean" and don't have intense thoughts or feelings staying with me as one does with the best films. I did enjoy watching it though, for there was enough thoughtful and humorous content to keep me involved. I think the low-key personality of Dean worked well in showing a young creative man dealing with grief and his own personality issues. I had the sense life wasn't exactly a great fun ride for him even before his mother's death.

The use of his cartoons and his subtle sense of humor served to highlight the troubling aspects of the main characters' lives, including, not only Dean, but Robert (Kevin Kline), and Dean's so-called best friend, Eric. They were all dealing with loneliness and loss in one way or another.

What didn't quite make it with me was the score. I've never been a fan of this type of music which I'll call folksy-pop music. In this case the songs' lyrics related to the action that was taking place, e.g., when Dean makes the somewhat out-of-character move of leaving the airplane just before takeoff because a woman he liked called him, the song's main lyric was "I'm a gambler..." Because I find this music to be almost sappy, having it accompany strong emotional moments seemed corny to me, and didn't enhance a film that already has its elements of nerdiness.

While for me it was a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half, I could see how a viewer who's personally dealing with loss of a loved one might get more out of it.

I watched for the first 45 minutes and wondered if there was any merit to the movie. I had about 3 laughs and was sad at the end. It was way too slow to develop and for a movie that said it was comedy, there really wasn't any. I feel the time spent to watch was not worth it.

We learn at the beginning of the story that a father and his grown son have just lost a wife and mother and are about to begin the grieving process.The father is played by two time Oscar winner Kevin Kline who turns in an outstanding performance. Likewise Dean, the son, is played by Demetri Martin in a excellent break through performance.. So is the director, screenwriter and producer also in the person of Demetri Martin. An important part of the story are single panel cartoons which are interspersed throughout the film and focuses the mood and irony of various situations in the movie. These drawings are also by Demetri Martin. So who is Demetri Martin? He has been a stand up comic for many years, has worked with Conan O'Brien on TV and has published a book of his own cartoons . He is obviously very talented and was able to draw upon his own experience of having lost a parent at a young age and his understanding of the universal search for love combined with a finely honed sense of humor.

Despite the initial premise of the story, this is really not a sad or tearjerker of a story, except the few times that Dean listens to a saved message on his iPhone of his late mom giving him words of encouragement. This is more a story of exploring different ways of grieving, as well as budding love of both a young and older man. It also uses two great exciting American cities that traditionally have been a backdrop for cinematic romance, New York( Brooklyn) and Los Angeles. The two respective women who have stirred the potential of deep romantic feelings in father and son at a time that they were on opposite coasts were Nicky (Gillian Jacobs) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen). Many of Dean's buddies in the movie, are played by actors and comics who have captured the beat of his generation.

The net result of this 87 minute film is a feel good experience which reminds us that the connection between loss and new love is natural and inevitable. We highly recommend this movie. It is funny and poignant with surprising depth. (2017)

Excellent movie, really nice and slow. Great humor too. And the soundtrack is amazing.

• a rather thin story line.

For a first film by Demetri Martin he scores high marks from me! The film is a delight to see with plenty of well thought out cinematography. But the plot is a bit thin as we realize from the beginning Dean has issues with his father and expressing himself over the death of his mother. Somewhere in the story these these two problems will come out.

The sub-story of Dean the NYC native feeling very out of place in L.A. is told refreshingly well. We've seen this topic before but Martin succeeds in making it feel new and original.

"Dean" is a film not to be missed by cinema lovers!