"Marty: Life Is Short" Review

 There's been a glut of documentaries recently examining various comedic performers like Steve Martin and Mel Brooks (whose two-part documentaries on Apple TV and HBO Max, respectively, I didn't review because they were more TV miniseries; they're OK, but not as exceptional as the subjects), Eddie Murphy, John Candy, Stiller & Meara, and even SNL writing legend Jim Downey as well as SNL's creator Lorne Michaels (haven't seen that yet).

Following this parade comes director Lawrence Kasdan's (Body Heat, The Big Chill) Netflix Original documentary profile of Martin Short, Marty: Life Is Short. Short has been a comedic mainstay for over 45 years first rising to prominence in the brilliant SCTV, before doing a year on SNL, then branching into movies of varying regard, stage work (winning two Tony Awards for Broadway musicals), up to his current run on Hulu's hit Only Murders In The Building with his longtime collaborator Steve Martin.

As someone who has watched Short since SCTV there wasn't much career-wise shown that I was unaware of but for young'uns who may only know him from Only Murders it is too superficial in rattling off clips of some of his roles with little insight. Why anyone thought having a then 40-year-old Short playing a 10-year-old in Clifford is never discussed. It's just chalked up as another commercial disappointment to move past, which he did by branching into Broadway.

The parallel theme is his 38-year-long relationship with Nancy Dolman whom he'd met in 1972 when she was Short's then on/off-again girlfriend Gilda Radner's understudy for the infamous production of Godspell which also starred Victor Garber (Alias) as Jesus; Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Dave Thomas (all to go on to SCTV); as well as Paul Shaffer (musical director) and Howard Shore (saxophone) who'd go on to play on SNL with Shaffer moving on to become David Letterman's bandleader and sidekick and Shore moving into film scoring, winning three Oscars for his Lord of the Rings work. (Sorry for the digression; I just find this confluence of talent wild and want to share.)

Anyhoo, Short and Dolman were madly in love and when they couldn't get pregnant adopted three children. (The oldest daughter committed suicide earlier this year and the film is dedicated to her and Catherine O'Hara who also passed this year and is heavily featured.) They had a storybook romance as indicated by one interviewee relating that when she and her husband were in marriage counseling and were asked by the therapist if there was a couple whose relationship they wished theirs was more like, she said, "Marty and Nancy's," to which the therapist replied they weren't the first couple to reference them.

Chock full of home movies capturing their home life and festive parties filled with Hollywood A-listers like Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw - both of the couples had young families so all the kids would play together - as well as his SCTV co-stars, it's all very warm and wonderful and ultimately a bit dull.

Director Kasdan is longtime friend of Short's and just as when Rob Reiner did a recent documentary on his friend Albert Brooks, he's too friendly to the subject to be objective. I doubt Kasdan was covering up a history of meth-fueled hooker murders, but when everyone loves Martin and Nancy and was sad when she passed from ovarian cancer in 2010 after 30 years married and the only other really dark period was between 12 and 20 years of age when his eldest brother and parents died, the lack of career introspection leaves us at a remove when Short clearly isn't shying away from discussing anything. Kasdan simply doesn't care to dig in.

There is one hilarious home movie that Spielberg shot where Hanks and Short recreate the cliff jumping scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but with them playing the parts as Forrest Gump and Ed Grimley. Spielberg is audibly laughing at the spectacle. There are also some clips of his Jiminy Glick character and it's clear where Zach Galifianakis got his Between Two Ferns premise from. 

While it lacks depth, Marty: Life is Short has plenty of warmth as it casually recounts what appears to be a rare decent bloke in the entertainment biz's life. 

Score: 7/10. Catch it on Netflix.