Song of Back and Neck | Paul Lieberstein | Tribeca 2018
Song of Back and Neck is the directorial debut of Paul Lieberstein, best known for his portrayal of Toby Flenderson on The Office.
He also wrote the screenplay in which he also stars in, as Fred Trolleycar (what a last name), a middle-aged average joe who suffers from chronic back and neck pain. It’s so bad that he literally is left to shower, get dressed and eat breakfast with his body on the ground, played to humorous effect in its delightful opening sequence.
His doctor (played by Paul Feig) can’t find a suitable option that will fix his problems, which leaves him desperate to anything that will work. Things at work aren’t much better, where a wisecracking lawyer Atkins (Clark Duke) constantly puts him down and has his sights to take over the company, which is owned by Fred’s father.
When a beautiful new client named Regan (Rosemarie DeWitt) enters the picture looking for a divorce, Fred is instantly charmed and goes the extra mile to work on her case and possibly find a little bit of love along the way. She recommends him to a local acupuncturist to help treat his pesky back and it’s during his treatment where the staff makes a stunning discovery: that when the needles are placed in his back, they make a beautiful noise that ends up becoming a viral sensation in the community.
It’s a kooky and lighthearted tale of a man trying to reignite his life just when he’s at his weakest state. His screenplay is strange and charming, which makes up for the more predictable elements that come its way during the weakest portion of the film in the third act.
But Liberstein puts enough of a personal stamp into this comedy that makes it a light and enjoyably brisk directorial debut. You enjoy spending time with Fred and can’t help but root for him, even if life keeps throwing him new curveballs along the way.
Even though Song of Back and Neck goes a bit too far to the extreme at the end, but I can’t help but find everything that came before a fun enough escapade to hope that Liberstein takes another crack at writing/directing again in the near future.
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