Last month The LA Times printed a profile of Tom Shadyac, the former A-list director of films such as Ace Ventura, Liar, Liar, Patch Adams, and The Nutty Professor (the one with Eddie Murphy, unfortunately). I say former because several years ago Shadyac suffered a nearly-crippling injury that caused him to re-examine the way he was living his life. Prior to the accident he was giving away most of the money that his blockbusters earned him, but soon enough he was going full force. He sold his mansion and moved to a trailer park. His last film was the most expensive comedy ever filmed (Evan Almighty) and the man has given most of his money away. Now we have the trailer for his latest, a documentary on the human condition called I Am.
In it, Shadyac explorers why people seemingly refuse to cooperate with each other and what that means to the planet. The two big questions it poses are what is wrong with the world and how can we fix it? While the subject matter seems very deep, including talks with some of the most influential thinkers of the world, the trailer presents it in a very optimistic light. And while Shadyac’s personal story might be more interesting, it will still be worth watching. He definitely has an artistic touch coming from working in Hollywood for so long, it’ll be interesting to see him tackle a smaller film with “bigger” questions.
But in the end, you can still see Shadyac’s comedic roots shine through. I won’t spoil it for you, just stick around to the end.
