In the American theater, there’s a genre of plays that amounts to three or four guys sitting around in one location shooting the shit (Think American Buffalo, Gas for Less). Emotions run high, profanities and profundities intertwine like a dialogic double-helix and every actor gets a big speech about LIFE and what it all means. About five minutes in, we were certain that Running Funny began life as a play. The location is a “garage apartment.” The characters are two guys fresh out of college, each with a lovable quirk, and their blind landlord who thinks he isn’t blind. And, boy, do they speechify about life.
Michael (Osinski) doesn’t seem all that interested in starting the next phase of his life. In fact, when he gets a job offer, he turns it down because he doesn’t like the way the job interviewer looked at him. Eddie (Gallerano) talks a stream of bullshit about how to work the job market (including an overly cute bit about pretending their phone has “hold” capabilities by clicking a Pez dispenser), but he really just wants to get away from the family business, which is, we kid you not, clowning. Their crotchety landlord Stan (Zorich) is hiding secret sorrows (Surprise!). All three actors tackle the material gamely, but there’s simply not much that’s profound, or funny, for them to run with.