Sarah Silverman’s new movie “I Smile Back” will be distributed in North America by Broad Green Pictures.
“Sarah’s raw and vulnerable performance will astonish audiences and define her as an incredible dramatic talent, ” said Broad Green Productions CEO Gabriel Hammond and Chief Creative Officer Daniel Hammond. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to give I Smile Back the platform to impact audiences the same way it did us.”
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Koppelman said he was “happy for the writers, director and actors that this film has found such a wonderful, committed home. This was truly a labor of love for all parties involved; therefore, it is a blessing to have a company as dedicated and passionate about this film onboard. We could not imagine anyone better suited than Broad Green.”
In the movie Silverman plays Laney Brooks, a drug addicted, bored and self-destructive housewife who hits rock bottom. With this performance she joins the ranks of comedians turned actors who have been able to make the shift to drama. Robin Williams did it and even won an Oscar for “Good Will Hunting.” So did Billy Crystal, Dennis Leary, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Lilly Tomlin and many more.
Silverman told Rolling Stone, “There really is no evidence of ‘me the comedian’ in this movie.” She added, “It actually is a bummer to be in a drama that has bummer scenes.”
The film had its premiere at the Sundance Film festival last year.
Variety said of her performance, “Rarely has a performer striven so concertedly to shed any trace of his/her comedy roots as Sarah Silverman does over the course of “I Smile Back, ” an addiction drama in which the acerbic comedienne gives the kind of warts-and-all, let-it-all-hang-out (body parts, fluids, etc.) turn that awards’ consultants dreams are made of.
“But Silverman’s performance is more than an attention-getting stunt, and it’s her hellish rendering of a New Jersey housewife under the influence of drugs, alcohol and mental illness that elevates director Adam Salky’s sophomore feature above the suburban-nightmare movie-of-the-week it otherwise often resemble.”
