Being a curmudgeon is part of his persona, but it’s not that difficult to find evidence of Marc Maron being vulnerable. Just listen to the introductions on his “WTF” podcast, in which the standup veteran monologues about whatever’s on his mind that day. And sure, some listeners fast-forward through these parts to get to the interview. But if you want to get to know the “real Marc Maron,” he is willing to bare his soul — it just has to be on his own terms.
Some of the most revealing content in the SXSW doc “Are We Good?” comes from Maron’s podcast, including a heartbreaking snippet of audio in which he announces the death of his partner Lynn Shelton to his listeners. Director Steven Feinartz does get one disarming on-camera interview with Maron about Shelton’s death, which happened suddenly in May 2020 from “some blood disease nobody knew about,” as Maron puts it. It’s visibly difficult for him to talk about it, and when one of his cats interrupts him, Maron seems relieved to stop sharing and make a joke.
Early on, a fellow comic describes Maron as an “asshole.” He’s a broken man, certainly, and an opinionated one. His sense of humor is dark and cutting, and he doesn’t hold back with withering reads on topics like “politically incorrect” comedians (he calls them “hacks with an excuse”) and the Joe Rogan podcasting empire. But an asshole? Maybe if he wasn’t right, as he is when he tells Feinartz that his idea of animating still photographs for the doc isn’t going to work. “I’ve never seen it not be hokey,” Maron says. Feinartz does it anyway, and the effect is exactly what Maron warned him it would be.
Maron was an asshole back in his cocaine days. He admits that. A big issue with “Are We Good?” is that its talking-heads biographical segments are painfully conventional, and pair awkwardly with the film’s more intimate material. A better film would have found a through line, but as it is this seems like two incomplete documentaries: One about Marc Maron finding his funny again after an especially dark period in his life, and one about his journey through the comedy worlds of the ‘80s and ‘90s towards launching “WTF” in 2009.
In between, some dark stuff happened that Maron doesn’t want to talk about. Feinartz copes with this by incorporating Maron’s hostility into his film: He opens with a scene of Maron backstage at the Comedy Store, talking shit and waiting for his turn to go up on stage. It’s been a while, and he’s nervous, and he really doesn’t appreciate Feinartz being there, let alone asking him questions. “I’m pushing you away,” Maron says sarcastically, and turns away from the camera.
The moment tells us something about Maron, but the point is made. And with time and repetition, Feinartz’s strategy of including footage of Maron fighting the process starts to feel like an excuse. It’s not his fault he wasn’t able to break down Maron’s walls, he seems to be saying — look what an asshole this guy is! But we also see a more sensitive Maron cleaning his cats’ litter boxes, and chatting with guys about Rush at the record store, and being polite to his dad’s much younger Republican wife. The unguarded nature of this footage doesn’t translate into the interviews, and the filmmaker has to take at least some of the blame for failing to establish that kind of rapport with his subject.
Feinartz primarily helms stand-up specials, and his appreciation for Maron’s work gives “Are We Good?” some of its strongest — and subtlest — through lines. Feinartz also directed Maron’s 2023 special ”From Bleak to Dark,” and seeing material from that set develop from casual remarks to rough-draft road work to polished bits on HBO provides fascinating insight into the comedian’s process and the craft of joke writing. This isn’t really the point of the movie, however.
What is the point of “Are We Good?,” then? If it’s to take an intimate look into Maron’s life, the film is only partially successful. Although he’s actually quite charming, often despite himself, Marc Maron is cautious. The one time he let down his guard, it was with Lynn Shelton, and she shattered his entire world when she died. So he’s determined not to let that happen again. That’s understandable on a human level, but it takes a special filmmaker to overcome that kind of opposition. In “Are We Good?,” even the confessional segments have an undercurrent of resistance to them — an interesting dynamic, but one that this filmmaker doesn’t know what to do with.
Grade: B-
“Are We Good?” premiered at SXSW 2025. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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