''Fourth of July'' is a 2022 American

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed and produced by

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker. C.K. has won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Act ...

, who co-wrote the screenplay with

Joe List Joseph Albert List (born April 6, 1982) is an American comedian and actor. Early life Joseph Albert List was born in Whitman, Massachusetts, on April 6, 1982. He began performing stand-up comedy in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2000, shortly after ...

. The film stars List as Jeff, a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based jazz pianist and recovering alcoholic who visits his family in rural

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

for

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

, and confronts them about the emotional traumas he experienced with them starting when he was a child. The film's $2 million budget was self-financed by C.K. ''Fourth of July'' premiered at New York City's Beacon Theatre on June 30, 2022.

Cast

as Jeff * Sarah Tollemache as Beth, Jeff's wife * Paula Plum as Mom * Robert Walsh as Dad * Tara Pacheco as Naomi, a friend of Brenda's * Robert Kelly as Bobby, a new

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...

sponsee of Jeff's * Richard O'Rourke as Grandpa * Dorothy Dwyer as Darlene *

Nick Di Paolo Nicholas Rocco Di Paolo (born January 31, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, radio personality and podcast host. He is the host of ''The Nick Di Paolo Show'' podcast, and is best known for his appearances as a regular on ' ...

as Uncle Kevin * Chris Walsh as Uncle Mark * Tony Viveiros as Tony *

Lynne Koplitz Lynne Koplitz is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actress. Koplitz was host of Telepictures' nationally syndicated dating show ''Change of Heart (TV series), Change of Heart'', guest host on NBC's ''Later (talk show), Later'', c ...

as Tricia * Courtland Jones as Brenda, Jeff's cousin * Bill Scheft as Bill, a long-time sponsor of Jeff and drummer in his band *

as Therapist *

Allan Havey Allan Havey is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. Overview Havey made his national debut in 1986 on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and made many appearances on the show through ...

as Dentist

Reception

Box office

The film earned $218,722 from two theaters in its opening weekend and $16,014 in its second. The film was released in theaters on several cities across the country for one night only. Though some cities continued to show the film due to positive audience response, ''Fourth of July'' never saw a wide release in theaters. On

the Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

, Louis CK explained that most of the revenue was generated by streaming the film on CK's website.

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 36% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.10/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on reviews from eleven critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called ''Fourth of July'' "a millennial indie trifle".

Glenn Kenny Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for ''The New York Times'' and '' RogerEbert.com''. Biography Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stated that the film goes too far in portraying Jeff's family as terrible people, writing, "The family dynamic here is so unrelentingly brutal that it's an actual shock to see how glib the movie is in papering it over." Kyle Smith of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' lauded the film as "one of the best films of the year", calling it "acutely observed". Several reviewers unfavorably compared the film to

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received t ...

's 2007 play '' August: Osage County'', which is similarly about an extended rural family forced to confront its dysfunctions.

References

External links

* * {{Louis C.K. 2022 comedy-drama films 2022 films 2022 independent films American comedy-drama films American independent films Films about dysfunctional families Films about pianos and pianists Films directed by Louis C.K. Films set in Maine Films with screenplays by Louis C.K. Independence Day (United States) films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films