January 25

Billy Crystal is a personal favorite of mine. He created a stand up comedy concert film that was based on a book that he wrote about his childhood and his family. It originally aired on HBO and I watched it on HBO Max.

It reminded me of the Charles Nelson Reilly film Life of Reilly, although that movie was darker than 700 Sundays. Both comedians talked about their childhood and their eccentric families with an honesty that you might not usually hear. They included the best of their lives, but also the tragedies that made them who they were.

Billy Crystal’s film was entitled 700 Sundays which was the count of Sundays that Billy had to spend with his father, Jack Crystal, before he died when Billy was 15.

Billy Crystal was remarkably funny, bringing out laughter between the tears in his stories. The set up for each tale brought the humor to the front, even with the deep loss that might also be present.

There were parts of the act that I recognized from previous stand up performances from Crystal. However, everything really fit together well. The stage featured a image of the old house that Crystal grew up in. This house became a important structure in the stories that he would tell.

The show was poignant, powerful and touching. Billy Crystal moved through everything with a flow that kept things moving and kept everyone laughing.

It was a wonderful show.