Posted: Thu., Feb. 21, 2013, 6:44pm PT New U.S. Release The Bitter Buddha (Documentary) By JOE LEYDON A Gravitas Ventures release of a Cheremoya Films production. Produced by Mikki Rosenberg, Steven Feinartz. Executive producers, Daniel Smekhov, Spencer Willis, Brad Rutter, Neil Bagg. Co-producers, Matthew Braun, Tyler Condon. Directed by Steven Feinartz. With: Eddie Pepitone, Robert Pepitone, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Jen Kirkman, B.J. Novak, Paul Provenza, Dana Gould, Todd Glass. By turns robustly amusing and wistfully melancholy, "The Bitter Buddha" persuasively argues that attention must be paid to Eddie Pepitone, a fiftysomething Los Angeles standup comic who hasn't yet graduated from cult favorite to breakthrough success. Widely admired as "a comic's comic" by better-known peers -- some of whom, including Sarah Silverman and Patton Oswalt, offer oncamera testimonials -- Pepitone appears understandably frustrated by his relative obscurity, but determined to pursue what he unironically calls "the big career." Steven Feinartz's well-crafted docu may provide the boost he needs if this pic finds the aud it merits in VOD and limited release. Pepitone -- whose appearance and demeanor suggest an angrier yet more enlightened version of Paulie, Rocky Balboa's underachieving brother-in-law -- rants about humiliating auditions and unresponsive audiences. But the picture isn't entirely bleak: He seems to land frequent if not remunerative club gigs and online-media work. And while he admits to battling personal demons, he also acknowledges his "flash anger" is high-octane fuel for his humor. Snippets of his show at Manhattan's Gotham Comedy Club indicate why he might be an acquired taste, and why those who acquire that taste find him hilarious. Camera (color), Alex Sax, Danny Garcia; editors, Daniel Russell, Feinartz; music, Andrew Sit; animation, Allen Mezquida; sound, Daniel J. Clark; associate producers, Mezquida, Kevin Crowley. Reviewed on VOD, Houston, Feb. 20, 2013. (In Slamdance Film Festival.) Running time: 90 MIN. The Bitter Buddha: Film Review 2:06 PM PDT 3/12/2013 by Frank Scheck Director The Bottom Line Steven Feinartz This loving portrait of the angst-ridden comedian should well lift his profile. This loving portrait of the angst-ridden comedian Eddie Pepitone should well lift his profile. Every little-known stand-up comedian should have as stellar a showcase as The Bitter Buddha, Steven Feinartz’s loving documentary profiling the 54-year-old “comic’s comic” Eddie Pepitone. Delivering his raspy comic diatribes fueled by a rage directed both inwardly and outwardly, the comedian--whose big belly and bald pate makes his nickname seem apt--should see his star rise as a result of this cinematic mash note. Peptitone, who’s been plying his trade for more than three decades, has achieved greater prominence in recent years thanks to his frequent appearances on Marc Maron’s popular podcasts. The two men are clearly kindred spirits, as evidenced by their frequent interactions seen here, including a hilarious off-the-cuff conversation about the complexities of navigating internet porn. A gallery of famous comedians is on hand to sing Pepitone’s praises, including Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman and Patton Oswalt, the latter commenting, “He’s the Charles Bukowski of comedy, only replace alcohol with Nutter Butter." As it happens, Pepitone is now clean and sober, a lifestyle choice he explains by saying that “I just want to be conscious for the horror." He’s also, for all the anger expressed in his stand-up routines, apparently a sweet soul, as evidenced by his adoration for his many pet cats, his fondness for listening to audio tapes of Eckhart Tolle and his habit of feeding squirrels in the park. “Does he do it angrily?” asks Oswalt with a smirk. There’s little structure to the film, which essentially follows the comedian around as he goes through his daily routines while offering frequent commentary about his addiction-plagued life and a career that has stubbornly resisted mainstream success. Some drama is supplied by his nervousness over an impending headlining gig at NYC’s Gotham Comedy Club, his first-ever in his home town, and whether or not his irascible father will bother to make the trek from Staten Island to attend. Although the lack of a narrative structure eventually proves frustrating, Pepitone is such an engaging, funny figure that he manages to give the proceedings a firm anchor. The unique blend of angst and humor that fuels his personality is beautifully encapsulated in the film’s closing moments, when he muses about never having had children and the fact that he’s devoted his life entirely to his career. “Is that sad?” he asks. “I think it is,” he answers while breaking into hysterical laughter. Opened March 8 (Cheremoya Films) Production: Syndctd Enterainment Director: Steven Feinartz Producers: Steven Feinartz, Mikki Rosenberg Executive producers: Neil Bagg, Christine O’Malley, Brad Rutter, Daniel Smekhov, Spencer Willis Directors of photography: Danny Garcia, Alex Sax Editors: Steven Feinartz, Dan Russell No rating, 91 min. 'Bitter Buddha' milks the loser shtick, successfully ★★★ 'The Bitter Buddha' (March 14, 2013) Michael Phillips Movie critic 1:26 p.m. CDT, March 14, 2013 Except for all the lame, derivative ones, every comedian under the sun is special in his own way. Eddie Pepitone's distinction resides in his need to flay himself at the same time he's blasting his loathing outward. Large, balding, a recovering alcoholic (he's now clean and sober), the veteran stand-up crank is the subject of director Steven Feinartz's wasp-on-the-wall documentary, blending performance footage, scenes with Pepitone and his sour but proud Staten Island father, and quiet moments in which "the Charles Bukowski of comedy" opens up and reveals some of the insecurities masked by other insecurities. Humor's nothing without them. As his friend, fellow comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, says in "The Bitter Buddha": Pepitone's stand-up attack springs from "decades of fear and failure. And learning to deal with that creatively." Pepitone lives in LA, where he auditions (sometimes successfully) for a variety of TV jobs he'd appreciate having. And yet the paradoxically needy contempt he feels for those in hiring positions compels him, often hilariously, to trash the hand that may feed him. He's also an active Twitter blab. "I love to tweet," he crows in one stand-up routine. "It makes up for a life that wasn't well lived." The movie's animated sequences have a way of killing the jokes when they're not coming off like an "Adult Swim" tryout. Yet the film succeeds in reflecting the weird sweetness in Pepitone, the eternal sweet-and-sour entree at a crowded buffet of more palatable comedians looking for guest shots on sitcoms. The doc also captures the essential melancholy of greater LA — the gnawing sense of failure that dogs even the most successful show business workers there. "The Bitter Buddha" ends with Pepitone's biggest club date of his career (the film was shot in 2011), at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, not far from where he grew up. He does well. His father's there. It's a good night. Pepitone and director Feinartz hit town for a one-night showing of "The Bitter Buddha" at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Music Box Theatre. AV Club editor Nathan Rabin will moderate a post-screening talk; go tomusicboxtheatre.com. [email protected] No MPAA rating (language). Running time: 1:30. Playing: 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Music Box Theatre; also available via Amazon and other streamers. Copyright © 2013 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC Interview: Eddie Pepitone Talks Deconstructionist Comedy, The Seven Stages to Accepting Yourself Onscreen, & Saying Yes To 'The Bitter Buddha' BY KATIE WALSH MARCH 17, 2013 8:32 AM Eddie Pepitone is a comic’s comic, a deconstructionist stand-up comic with a scream like no other, who’s willing to put everyone, most often himself, under the microscope. Pepitone gets that treatment in the documentary film "The Bitter Buddha," directed by Steven Feinartz. It’s an engaging portrait of this man and an instant classic film about comedy that will be fascinating to comedy nerds and mainstream audiences alike. In our review, we said the film is 'a portrait of an interesting and endearing misanthrope,' and we got a chance to talk to the man himself on the day of his film’s premiere at the Cinema Village in New York City. How did you get in touch with "The Bitter Buddha" 's director, Steven Feinartz? He had seen me perform the rants on Marc Maron’s WTF Live Shows, and Steven really liked what I did, and I had just fired my manager and contacted me through Twitter. We met at UCB, and he just proposed to me a documentary on me. And I was like 'oh yeah!' I had a really good feeling about Steven so I said, yeah let's do it. It doesn't sound like you had many reservations about agreeing to this project. I went with my instincts, because – this is really wild – I had been approached by someone else in New York. About 6 months earlier, he wanted to do a documentary on me, and my instincts were: definitely not him. It's apparent in the documentary that you’re very in tune with the energy around you in a very innate way. Well, it's a huge undertaking. He followed me for close to a year. What was that like for you letting these people in? The first couple of times I was filmed, I was like, 'oh man, I don’t know if I can do this,' because I felt very conscious of the cameras and I felt uncomfortable.