Demetri Martin is a jack of all trades. The writer-actor-standup comic is trying his hand at directing with the new comedy-drama Dean, where he plays a cartoon artist who is struggling with his grief -- in a quirky fashion -- after the death of his mother. One way that he might overcome his grief is by meeting his true love, who is personified by Gillian Jacobs in Dean. We have an exclusive clip of the chemistry between Jacobs and Martin, which you can watch below:
"What part of Brooklyn are you from?" Man, I love that line. Demetri Martin is a triple threat in Dean, serving as the movie's writer, director and lead actor. But he also surrounded himself with a powerhouse cast that should have all of us sitting up and taking notice. Dean (Martin) isn't going through the stages of grief on his own. Martin casts Kevin Kline to play his father, a man dealing with the loss of his partner and finding ways to move on. In this regard, we get an additional cute meet, as Kline befriends Mary Steenburgen, herself playing a real-estate broker helping Kline sell the family home. It's time to move on, as difficult as that may be.
Not that Dean is a downer. As indicated by the clip above, Demetri Martin is looking to bring humor and pathos to the turning-a-corner human drama, and he's looking for relatable laughs in a difficult situation. He found the right people for that type of ensemble, as Kline, Jacobs and Steenburgen all have excelled at portraying relatable yet funny characters in numerous projects over the years. If you dial into that type of self-reflection, Dean looks to be your type of movie.
The full trailer for Dean suggests one other unexpected yet welcome creative decision: Demetri Martin's character is an artist, meaning he occasionally includes illustrations that communicate his internal issues. The drawings belong to Martin, likely will be used as a punchline throughout the film, and look like this:
Dean first played for audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it took home the prize for Best Narrative Feature in 2016. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Dean also opened in limited release on June 2, but will expand to more theaters in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more details. And for a complete rundown of all the movies coming to theaters in the next few weeks, head over here.
