Centered around an awkwardly deferential yes-man, played by our first-time filmmaker (surprise surprise), who suffers gruelingly intense back pain in his dissatisfied life, Song of Back and Neck doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, particularly when it comes to quirky dramedies based around nebby low-men who can’t stand up for themselves — quite literally, in this case. Yet, ironically, for a film about a guy in distressing, debilitating pain, there’s a cute, comfortable charm to Paul Lieberstein’s feature directorial debut.
Aided by the sharp talents of the actor-writer-director’s co-stars, including Rosemarie DeWitt, Robert Pine, and fellow Office co-workers, Clark Duke and Paul Feig (the latter in a rare acting-only turn), Paul Lieberstein’s amiable (if unadventurous) movie is too unruly to really come together in a lasting fashion — which is rather unfortunate for a movie about a man finding his core center. That said, this undemanding, unassuming directorial debut is unfittingly a pain-free watch that showcases his wry, winsome wit.
Rent Song Of Back And Neck on Amazon Prime here.