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Monologues usually bore the crap out of me unless they are done by the likes of Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, or George Carlin. I've paid good money to see Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and even Pete Barbutti (three drink minimum). On the other hand, I've always found dramatic monologues about as exciting as the Mr. Lincoln exhibit at Disneyworld. The last think I thought I'd appreciate would be an hour-and-one-half of "Pat" talking about really depressing shit. How wrong I was.
God said, Ha! is a modern day version of the story of Job. Julia Sweeney, at the point her story begins, is two years divorced, past the Pat failure, and has just purchased her small dream house in Hollywood. As she begins to settle in, it seems that the worst possible things that can happen, do. Her brother comes down with cancer and soon moves in to her spare bedroom. Her parents move down from Washington and pretty much take over her house. Others, including another brother, move in from time-to-time forcing her to sleep on the couch. And things get worse from there. Much worse. The charm and attraction of this piece is that it allows us to see these horrible events through the ironic observations of Sweeney and through the dark humor of her cancer stricken brother. I actually felt energized after viewing this film, not dragged down as I had thought I would be.
Julia Sweeney's performance shares nothing with her SNL characters. Her whole play is only done with two voices: Her's and her mother's. This is a good thing, else it might distract from the rich picture she has painted from her self-authored story. I'll tell you how good this picture was, if you see it, you'll likely forgive her for having anything to do with Pat.
What attracted me to this film in the first place? Nothing. I had fallen asleep on the recliner while reading the Tulsa World and my wife had the forethought to duct tape me to the recliner and immobilize by head through the clever use of two by fours and an old bench vise. And hell, I didn't even know we owned a pair of Clockwork Orange Eyelid clips.
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