Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Oh, you thought Paul Reiser was living his best career in the ‘90s, as he starred in a flurry of films and his own beloved sitcom, Mad About You? That’s cute. But no, the Reiser-ssance has just recently kicked into high gear, with no signs of slowing.
Paul Reiser has appeared in a variety of films lately that have probably made you say, “Oh, Paul Reiser is in this? Cool!” Because it is cool. Finding him in some of these projects might seem random or unexpected or even a role too small for someone with as much talent as Reiser. But all the shows, movies, and Reiser alike, reap the benefits from his involvement.
The ‘ssance began circa 2014, when Reiser appeared as Miles Teller’s dad in Whiplash. Who saw that one coming? But it was excellent casting and a great pairing. An equally delightful surprise was to see him as Shep, the older husband to Jenny Slate’s Jess on the FX comedy Married. It was yet another in his streak of choosing off-beat comedies.
He also showed up in Life After Beth, a zombie comedy, because why wouldn’t he? Reiser reteamed with that film’s director, Jeff Baena, for this year’s Joshy, a film that gained a ton of buzz at Sundance and is available now on VOD. In the movie, Reiser plays the disgruntled father of Thomas Middleditch’s former fiancé. Seeing Reiser get worked up in such an emotional way was nothing short of jarring and very much one of the stand-out scenes of the film. Really, when was the last time you were a little scared of but also angry at Paul Reiser? He will also appear in Baena’s next film, The Little Hours, out next year.
Reiser also had roles in Concussion, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and Miles, all released within the past year. Plus, he has The Darkness out in September and War on Everyone in October. Has this guy ever been busier? More importantly, has he ever taken such a variety of roles? In playing against-type, we’re seeing a new era of Reiser’s career. Gone are the “average nice guy” roles, in are the “rich dad who also might be kind of a dick” roles. Which brings us to Red Oaks.
If you have yet to take in the 10 delightful episodes of Red Oaks, available now on Prime Video, get thee eyeballs there now. Season two premieres in November and you’ll want to be caught up. In all of his unusual roles so far, playing Mr. Getty in the nostalgic ‘80s country club comedy is one of his absolute finest, not just of late, but of ever. He’s hilariously rude to assistant tennis pro David (Craig Roberts), and his rage on the courts is more exciting than the majority of what we’ll see at the U.S. Open this week.
Maybe we couldn’t predict that the prime of Paul Reiser’s career would be coming right at us in 2016, the same way we couldn’t predict that a role where he stomps around in tennis shorts would be the reason for it. Let’s just be grateful that it’s here and we’re living in it, and also hope that it helps get My Two Dads on a streaming platform any day now. Because that Reiser guy? You’ll want to keep your eye on that one. He’s just warming up for quite the career ahead of him.
