All About Nina

In case headlines hadn’t made this clear, standup comedians can be pretty messed up. And as the title character, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is one of the messiest, both in terms of her raunchy material and her post-performance stress vomiting, both of which can be counted on.

But perhaps her life is about to turn around. On the advice of her agent, Nina switches coasts in the hopes of making it on television.

Writer/director Eva Vives switches things up a few times herself. In the early going this looks like a fishout-of-water comedy, as East Coast Nina encounters the flakiest clichés of L.A. “I’m Lake,” says her new roommate. “My pronouns are she/her. I’m water-based.” Nina responds: “I’m whiskybased.”

In act 2 she meets Rafe (Common), a fortyish cool cat who might be a little screwed up. But since her regular type is very screwed up and sometimes physically abusive, this is definitely a step up, if she can just find a way not to mess it up. This section is very Amy Schumer.

Alas, there’s an act 3 coming, wherein Nina has a very public meltdown that takes the com right out of this rom-com, and may have audiences wondering what they signed up for. If you can handle an emotional roller coaster, hang on and remember that the metaphor is apt; there are as many downs here as there are ups.•••½

All About Nina opens Oct. 12 in Toronto; Oct. 26 in Regina; Nov. 9 in Saskatoon; and Nov. 16 in Ottawa.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead