Running with the Bulls (2003) Online

This gem has been playing now on IFC at a variety of times. It follows Adam Goldberg (actor from Dazed, Beautiful Mind, Prophecy) on a physical and metaphysical journey across the United States in a quest for the meaning of life and love. Like these two subjects, art imitates life and Goldberg is unable to find a satisfactory answer to either quest. Instead he opts to follow one of his heroes (from whom the title of the show was coined) Ernest Hemmingway but once again fails to be able run with the bulls. This is predominantly because he and his codriver, a dry Englishman named Adrian have driven to Chicago rather than Pamplona, Spain. Still, undetered, Goldberg, dons torreador cape and heads for the United Center to run with the bulls, the ones with basketballs.

Often poignant, sometimes moving, and sporadically funny, Goldberg can never quite mask his undying sense of humor in what ultimately looks like a genuine philosophical struggle. Written, directed, scored and edited by Goldberg, in Running with the Bulls he makes a brave attempt at being a jack of all trades. Goldberg is clearly a talented artist and his eye for the bizarre and unprecedented ability to self-depricate mean that this really is a true gem of independent television. If I were to offer one complaint it is an overall weakness in editing, with an obvious lack of a sense of story, giving the impression that much of the subject matter is occuring in Adam's head and he therefore finds it unnecessary to explain to us, the ever misunderstanding audience.

This is overall, a brave and intelligent attempt at genuine self analysis, challenging and referencing common perceptions of life on the road, where Adam joins and breaks ranks with Burroughs, Bukowski, Thompson et al in a confusing treat of self-discovery.

Midway through "Running with the Bulls," I thought, "this is like watching a student film." Then I realized that even compared to student films, this is still excruciatingly bad. The jokes--all three of them--are obvious and done to death. Goldberg's preoccupation with documenting every iota of his existence is meant to be amusing, but it's merely annoying. Goldberg wrote, directed, starred and composed the music for this film so his presence is inescapable and ultimately claustrophobic. Comparisons to Woody Allen are inevitable, but Allen surrounds himself with talented actors and postcard-perfect shots of New York. Perhaps Goldberg will figure out in time that he needs an ensemble to balance out his brooding.

A sad footnote: John Glick, Goldberg's friend in this film (and in real life, for all I know) was tragically killed in July 2005 by a distraught young woman who attempted suicide by ramming her car into his. She survived; Glick and his two companions didn't.

This film reminds me of the sad documentary made about Woody Allen and his daughter/wife and sister's trip through Europe when he was there on tour. Woody showed himself as totally self-absorbed, neurotic, self-centered and condescending. Ditto for Mr. Goldberg in Running with Bulls, which is also particularly childish and silly. I watched it but found it amazingly boring and stupid. Clearly, everyone surrounding him in the film felt the same way. Interestingly, Woody is so coddled by his daughter/wife and his sister that you wonder what other purposes they might have in their lives. If I had been there, instead of enabling him to be a total pain in the pa-toot, I'd say, "Oh Woody - get over yourself!" That's exactly how I felt about this film. Oh, Mr. Goldberg. You may only be half-Jewish, but you have every neurotic trait that Woody has made his business to expose about himself during his entire career. The difference is that Woody does it skillfully, while Goldberg does not. I can't help but think that someday Mr. Goldberg will look back on this work and shiver with embarrassment as one of the mistakes of his youth.