Never Be Done: The Richard Glen Lett Story - Not a "sad clown" story, but a hard, redemptive look at a hard man to like

By Thom Ernst

Rating A- 

Never Be Done: The Richard Glen Lett Story  needs a new title. My alternate title would be Almost Famous: The Struggle and Survival of Richard Lett.

This title not only forgives you for not knowing who Lett is but entices you to find out why he’s not famous. Because, it is the ‘why’ in this telling of Lett’s story that matters.  

Richard Glen Lett, onstage with demons to spare.

Comic insiders recognize Lett as a once prominent stand-up comedian whose substance abuse and harsh behaviour (some say cruel) sent him spiraling from the brink of success to homelessness. Filmmaker Roy Tighe chronicles seven-years of what is hopefully the most difficult in Lett’s life. 

Never Be Done: The Richard Glen Lett Story is less about Lett’s crashing and burning than it is about his rising out of ruin to a place of contentment. Some might call this redemption, but that’s where things get tricky. Redemption implies a kind of moral high ground that propagates humiliation and enforces a denial of the former self. It ignores the possibility of mental illness—something the film doesn’t fully explore beyond the disease related to alcoholism and drug abuse. 

But homelessness, alcoholism, substance abuse, and anger are symptoms, not sins. And even when Lett is at his most challenging, he still has the love and affection of those close to him; we might not understand why some love him, we just know they do. So, Lett’s journey seems less about redemption and more about something less judgmental: recovery.

Films about comedians are rarely funny; documentary films about comedians even less so. Oh sure, there are jokes in Tighe’s film—Lett can’t help but perform for the camera—but the overall take away is that comedy is hard, but comedians fall harder. 

But Tighe doesn’t pander to the sad-clown archetype. Lett is not portrayed as a man in pain hiding behind a veil of comedy; he’s a man who wields his pain like a flame thrower burning through everything in his path. 

Tighe is not averse to revealing Lett’s profoundly dark side. Lett is a hard man to like: He rages, he snarls, he condescends, he revolts, he pouts, he’s arrogant, he’s defiant and he alienates everyone from his peers to his audiences. When Lett confesses to ‘forcing’ (his word) women into having sex (it’s unclear whether it is through intimidation, goading or manipulation), it’s all you can do to not question why Tighe doesn’t turn off the camera and walk away.  

But Tighe hopes we hang on, insisting that Lett is worthy of our empathy. He wants us to root for Lett to beat the demons and take back his life. He strings a difficult tight-rope for us to walk on, and it is one that I stumble off of many times.

Lett brags about the number of comedy clubs he’s been banned from for offences ranging from verbal abuse to sucker-punching a club manager. There are clips of Lett’s less than controlled confrontations with audience members, and footage of him getting high in green rooms. It’s a voyeur’s delight but one that quickly becomes painful to witness

Thankfully, there are other witnesses to Lett’s misbehavior. There’s a pseudo-girlfriend whose affection seems to go unrequited, an addiction counselor whose efforts to redirect him appear all but exhausted, fellow comedians (in particular Sunee Dhaliwal, a very funny young Toronto based-comic whose reactions to one of Lett’s more tasteless jokes gives the film its biggest laugh out loud moment), and Letts’ young daughter, Breanna. 

Were it not for their personal insights into Lett’s character, one would question why Lett deserves our attention. Then there are the on-camera appearances of the filmmaker himself – a seemingly affable and unbelievably tolerant man – who, along with his sound technician, remain patient with Lett, despite being subjected to Lett’s fragmented moods, as if they recognize in him something that the camera has yet to reveal. We hang in because they do.

Only Breanna seems exempt from Lett’s wrath. It is not unreasonable to assume Breanna’s existence is the reason Lett is still alive.

Perhaps the most insightful reveal of Lett’s character comes from comedy magnate, Mark Breslin, owner of Canada’s largest chain of comedy clubs, Yuk Yuk’s. Breslin has seen enough of comics-turned-tragic to know that Lett’s story is not new, and neither is it one that is likely to grow old. He offers a perspective that is frank and without judgment – an essential twist of the narrative, allowing a glimpse of Lett as a man in danger rather than a dangerous man. 

Can Lett regain enough of his former self to continue along the path he started? Redemption says no. Recovery says maybe. His friends, daughter and the filmmaker don’t care either way.  They’re just glad he’s still here.  

Never Be Done: The Richard Glen Lett Story. Directed by Roy Tighe. Starring Richard Glen Lett, Sunee Dhaliwal and Mark Breslin. Available to rent or purchase on major platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vimeo and YouTube Movies.