Real Life

Albert Brooks directs and stars as a version of himself, an egocentric comedian who sets out to make a documentary about an ordinary American household. He chooses the Yeager family of Phoenix, led by Warren and Jeannette, and moves in with a film crew to record a year of their daily lives, following the model of the pioneering PBS series An American Family. The production quickly intrudes on the family's routines and relationships, and the arrangement turns sour as the cameras keep rolling.

The film is a comedy that satirizes reality television and the documentary impulse to turn private life into entertainment. Brooks wrote the screenplay with Monica Johnson and Harry Shearer, and the cast includes Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, Lisa Urette, Robert Stirrat and Dick Haymes, with 41 credited performers in all. Penelope Spheeris produced.

Real Life was released in March 1979 and runs 99 minutes. It is the first of the three features Brooks has directed, arriving well before Defending Your Life and The Muse. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from around 4,600 votes, while on TMDB it rates 6.6 out of 10 from about 100 votes. A critics' rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 25 reviews places professional opinion closely in line with the wider audience response.